The Donald Trump administration made a new offer to Hamas in an effort to break the stalemate in the war in Gaza: an American hostage in exchange for a statement calling for calm and the resumption of negotiations, Axios reported.
The offer comes as negotiations have stalled further after Israel renewed attacks on the enclave following the ending of the first phase of the ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that if Hamas continues to refuse to release hostages the country will occupy parts of Gaza.
The outlet detailed that the U.S. has been pressuring Qatar and Egypt so they push Hamas to release some hostages, which the administration says would restore the ceasefire and buy time for negotiations. Officials in Washington D.C. and Tel Aviv said that Hamas negotiators in Cairo had accepted the proposal, but Mohammed Sinwar, brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and who is leading the group in the enclave, refused.
The offer comes as Palestinians staged this week rare protests against Hamas, which rules Gaza with an iron fist. Videos in the territory show large crowds marching through the streets of northern Gaza chanting "for god's sake, Hamas out," "Hamas terrorist" and "we want an end to the war," a CNN reporter on the ground detailed.
CNN reported that a message shared on social media called for nine protests across Gaza, with organizers saying "our voices must reach all the spies who sold our blood." "Let them hear your voice, let them know that Gaza is not silent and that there is a people who will not accept to be eradicated," the message added.
Since rising to power in 2007 in a bloody coup, Hamas has ruled Gaza with an iron fist. Dissidents are often surveilled and beat or executed, and Israel has repeatedly accused militants of stealing most of the aid going into the territory since the war began.
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