Sawt Falasteen - Hamas official says group still needs time to study Trump's Gaza plan

"Hamas is still continuing consultations regarding Trump's plan... and has informed mediators that the consultations are ongoing and need some time," the official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.

Trump on Tuesday gave Hamas an ultimatum of "three or four days" to accept his plan to end the nearly two-year war in the Palestinian territory.

The plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas's disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. That would be followed by a post-war transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

World powers, including Arab and Muslim nations, have welcomed the proposal.

Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said in a statement Friday that the "plan has points of concern, and we will announce our position on it soon."

"We are in contact with mediators and with Arab and Islamic parties, and we are serious about reaching understandings," he added.

A Palestinian source close to Hamas's leadership told AFP on Wednesday that the Islamist movement "wants to amend some of the clauses such as the one on disarmament and the expulsion of Hamas and faction cadres."

Hamas leaders also want "international guarantees for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip" and guarantees that no assassinations attempts will be made inside or outside the territory, the source added.

- 'Two opinions' -

Another source familiar with the negotiations told AFP that "two opinions exist within Hamas".

"The first supports unconditional approval, as the priority is a ceasefire under Trump's guarantees, with mediators ensuring Israel implements the plan," the source told AFP.

"The second has serious reservations regarding key clauses, rejecting disarmament and the expulsion of any Palestinian from Gaza. They favour conditional approval with clarifications reflecting Hamas's and the resistance factions' demands," the source added.

The war was triggered by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 66,225 Palestinians, according to health ministry figures in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

Their data does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but indicates that more than half of the dead are women and children.

K.Hassan--SF-PST