Hamas Responds to Witkoff Gaza Proposal, Demands Trump Guarantee Israel Won’t Resume Genocide

Drop Site obtained the new proposal, which Hamas drafted in consultation with a range of Palestinian factions. Witkoff swiftly denounced it as “unacceptable.”

Hamas’s lead negotiator, Dr. Khalil Al Hayya, at his office in Gaza City on April 21, 2021 (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Hamas has submitted a new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire that the group says “aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal [of Israeli forces] from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip.” The thirteen point document, obtained by Drop Site, represents Hamas’s official response to an Israeli proposal for a 60-day temporary truce circulated Thursday by President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Among the terms Hamas wants included in any deal are a guarantee that as long as Palestinian resistance forces hold their fire, negotiations for a complete end to the genocide will continue beyond a 60-day initial truce and that this would be guaranteed by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar. “The United States and President Trump are committed to working diligently to ensure the continuation of negotiations until a final agreement is reached,” the document says.

Hamas also wants the immediate resumption of aid deliveries in accordance with the protocols established in the original January ceasefire deal, as well as guarantees that the flow of aid—distributed primarily by the UN and Red Crescent—will not be shut off by Israel as long as negotiations continue. The mediators “will ensure that negotiations continue until a permanent ceasefire agreement is reached, along with the ongoing cessation of hostilities and the entry of humanitarian aid,” the document says.

Hamas’s proposal would require an immediate and complete halt to all Israeli military activity in Gaza and an initial withdrawal of Israeli troops to their positions prior to March 2, when Israel abandoned the original January ceasefire agreement and imposed a full spectrum blockade on Gaza. The proposal calls for all Israeli aerial activity, military and reconnaissance, to halt for ten hours per day and 12 hours on days when exchanges of captives occur.

Under Hamas’s framework, Trump would announce the ceasefire deal and state that he is committed to preserving the ceasefire until a final resolution is reached. Witkoff, according to the proposal, would travel to the region to chair the negotiations. Hamas dropped a term, contained in an earlier agreement, that would have seen Witkoff personally shake hands with Hamas’s lead negotiator Khalil Al Hayya, as well as one that said Trump would thank all parties, including Hamas, for their work in achieving a deal.

Hamas’s draft reintroduces terms from a deal that Hamas said it made with Witkoff on May 25. Israel rejected that document and four days later, on May 29, Witkoff and Israel announced new terms, which would permit Israel to resume its genocidal war after 60 days and to keep its forces entrenched deep inside Gaza. It contained no guarantees for allowing the unrestricted flow of food, medicine, fuel and other life essentials to the Gaza Strip.

In a post on X Saturday, soon after he received Hamas’s response, Witkoff denounced Hamas’s draft. “It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward. Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” Witkoff wrote. “That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days… and in which we can have at the proximity talks substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire.”

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim disputed Witkoff’s characterization. “We did not reject Mr. Witkoff’s proposal. We agreed with him on a proposal, which he deemed acceptable for negotiation. We then received the other party's response (the Israelis) through Mr. Witkoff, which rejected all that we had agreed upon with him,” Naim told Drop Site. “Nevertheless, we responded positively and responsibly, responding to him in a manner that fulfilled the aspirations and demands of our people. Why is the Israeli response considered the only response for negotiation? This violates the integrity and fairness of mediation and constitutes a complete bias towards the other side.”

Netanyahu echoed Witkoff’s rejection of Hamas’s proposal, saying in a statement, “It is unacceptable and sets the process back. Israel will continue its efforts to bring our hostages home and to defeat Hamas.”

In its new ceasefire outline, Hamas reinserted language that Witkoff and Israel removed from the May 25 agreement that stated that Hamas would relinquish its governance of Gaza to an independent technical committee of Palestinians to administer all affairs in Gaza and to coordinate reconstruction. Hamas has consistently said it would give up power as part of a long term ceasefire deal. “An independent technocratic committee will immediately assume management of all affairs of the Gaza Strip upon the start of the agreement’s implementation, with full authority and responsibilities,” the proposal states.

Among the new terms Hamas proposed was that the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt be reopened and the free flow of people and commercial goods into Gaza would be permitted “without any restrictions.” The Rafah crossing represents the only gateway Gaza’s residents have to the outside world—as the rest of the Strip is encircled by Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear he does not intend to allow the re-opening of the crossing and has bragged in recent days that the Witkoff “term sheet” Israel endorsed allows Israeli forces to retain control of the crossing.

Hamas also called for immediate reconstruction to begin on hospitals, clinics, schools, bakeries and other essential sites destroyed in Israel’s war, as well as the rehabilitation of electricity, water, sewage, telecommunications, and roads “in all areas of the Strip.”

Hamas proposed the commencement of immediate negotiations to achieve a long term truce, which it described as, “A cessation of mutual (hostile) military operations between the two parties for a long period of 5-7 years, guaranteed by the mediators (the United States, Egypt, and Qatar).” It also called for a massive 3-5 year reconstruction effort to rebuild Gaza that would “be implemented under the supervision of several countries and organizations, including Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations.”

Hamas’s proposal would result in the same number of Israeli captives released in the initial 60-day period outlined in the Witkoff-Israel proposal and the deal made between Witkoff and Hamas: ten living Israelis and the bodies of 18 deceased. But in its new draft, Hamas proposes the releases be staggered over the course of two months, rather than one week. Witkoff’s framework says that five living Israeli captives would be released on day one of a deal and the remaining five on day seven.

Hamas says it wants the releases spread out over two months to prevent Netanyahu from resuming the war after the first week of a deal: four on day one, two on day 30 and four on day 60. “The release of the living prisoners and bodies will take place simultaneously and according to an agreed-upon mechanism,” the document states. Hamas would also agree to return the bodies of 18 Israelis, the same number as Witkoff’s term sheet, though these would also be staggered over a 50-day period.

The Hamas document does not specify the number of Palestinian captives that would be freed in exchange for the Israelis held in Gaza, but officials have told Drop Site they expect the formulas used in previous exchanges would apply. “On the tenth day, Hamas will provide information on the numbers of living and dead prisoners remaining in Hamas and the Palestine factions’ custody. In return, Israel will provide full information on all living and dead prisoners captured from the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023,” the document states.

“Hamas commits to ensuring the health, care, and security of Israeli detainees immediately upon the commencement of the ceasefire,” it adds. “In return, Israel commits to ensuring the health, care, and security of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons and detention centers, in accordance with international law and norms.” In the Israeli-Witkoff proposal, only Hamas would have been required to commit to the care and security of the captives it holds. Israeli guarantees about the treatment of Palestinian captives were not included.

Hamas states that negotiations for a permanent ceasefire should be completed during the 60-day truce. After an agreement is announced and the “complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip” is enacted, Hamas would free all remaining Israeli captives “in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners.”

Hamas’s proposal is presented in the same 13-point structure as the previous framework, which Witkoff referred to as a “term sheet.” It contains a range of amendments and terms that largely seek to return the ceasefire negotiations to the spirit of the original deal signed on January 17, which Israel unilaterally abandoned after the first phase of what was supposed to be a three-phase deal spanning 126 days.

Hamas said that its new proposal was crafted after extensive consultations with a range of Palestinian political factions and parties and that the document was crafted out of an “immense sense of responsibility towards our people and their suffering.”

Hamas officials have consistently told Drop Site they will not agree to any proposal that does not include a clearly defined framework for a total end to the genocide and the withdrawal of Israeli forces. Netanyahu has said Israel will not agree to terms that prevent it from resuming its war of annihilation against Gaza.

Below is an English translation of the complete Arabic text of Hamas’s ceasefire proposal made on May 31, 2025:

31 May 2025

Framework for Negotiating an Agreement to a Permanent Ceasefire

1. Duration: A 60-day ceasefire. President Trump guarantees Israel’s commitment to the ceasefire during the agreed-upon period.

2. Release of Israeli Prisoners and Bodies: 10 living Israeli prisoners and 18 bodies will be released. Four living prisoners will be released on the first day, two living prisoners on the 30th day, and four living prisoners on the 60th day. Six bodies will be handed over on the 10th day, six on the 30th day, and six on the 50th day.

3. Aid and the Humanitarian Situation:

a. Aid will be delivered to Gaza immediately upon approval of the ceasefire agreement, in accordance with the humanitarian protocol included in the January 19, 2025 agreement, through the United Nations, its agencies, and other organizations, including the Red Crescent.

b. Rehabilitation of infrastructure (electricity, water, sewage, telecommunications, and roads) and the entry of necessary materials, including construction materials, and the rehabilitation and operation of hospitals, health centers, schools, and bakeries in all areas of the Strip.

c. Allowing residents of the Strip to travel to and from the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing without any restrictions, and allowing the return of goods and trade movement.

d. During the negotiations period, arrangements and plans for the reconstruction of homes, facilities, and infrastructure destroyed during the war will be completed, as well as support for those affected by the war. A 3 to 5 year reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip will be implemented under the supervision of several countries and organizations, including Egypt, Qatar, and the United Nations.

4. Israeli Military Activities: All Israeli military activities in Gaza shall cease once this agreement enters into force. During the ceasefire period, aerial activity (military and reconnaissance) over the Gaza Strip will be suspended for 10 hours daily, and for 12 hours on days of prisoner and detainee exchanges.

5. Withdrawal of Israeli Forces: On the first day, four living Israeli prisoners will be released, provided that Israeli forces withdraw to their positions prior to March 2, 2025, in all areas of the Gaza Strip, in accordance with the maps stipulated in the January 19 2025 agreement.

6. Negotiations: On the first day, indirect negotiations will begin under the auspices of the mediators guaranteeing the permanent ceasefire, on the following topics:

a. Keys and conditions for the exchange of all remaining Israeli prisoners in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

b. Declaration of a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. (After agreement on the exchange of the remaining prisoners and bodies and before the start of the handover procedures, the permanent ceasefire and complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Gaza Strip will be announced.)

c. Next-day arrangements in the Gaza Strip, including:

· An independent technocratic committee will immediately assume management of all affairs of the Gaza Strip upon the start of the agreement’s implementation, with full authority and responsibilities

· A cessation of mutual (hostile) military operations between the two parties for a long period of 5-7 years, guaranteed by the mediators (the United States, Egypt, and Qatar).

7. Presidential Support: The President is serious about the parties' commitment to the ceasefire agreement and insists that negotiations during the temporary ceasefire, if successfully concluded with an agreement between the parties, will lead to a permanent resolution of the conflict.

8. Release of Palestinian Prisoners and Bodies: In exchange for the release of the ten living Israeli prisoners and the 18 bodies, a mutually agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners and bodies will be released.

· The release of the living prisoners and bodies will take place simultaneously and according to an agreed-upon mechanism.

9. Status of Prisoners and Detainees:

a. On the tenth day, Hamas will provide information on the numbers of living and dead prisoners remaining in Hamas and the Palestine factions’ custody. In return, Israel will provide full information on all living and dead prisoners captured from the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.

b. Hamas commits to ensuring the health, care, and security of Israeli detainees immediately upon the commencement of the ceasefire. In return, Israel commits to ensuring the health, care, and security of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons and detention centers, in accordance with international law and norms.

10. Release of Remaining Prisoners: Negotiations regarding a permanent ceasefire should be completed within 60 days. Upon agreement and after the declaration of a permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, the remaining prisoners (living and dead) from the list of 58 submitted by Israel will be released in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners.

11. Guarantors: The mediators (the United States, Egypt, and Qatar) will guarantee the continuation of the ceasefire for 60 days and will ensure that negotiations continue until a permanent ceasefire agreement is reached, along with the ongoing cessation of hostilities and the entry of humanitarian aid.

12. Envoy to Chair Negotiations: The Special Envoy, Ambassador Steve Witkoff, will travel to the region to finalize the agreement. Witkoff will chair the negotiations.

13. President Trump: President Trump will personally announce the ceasefire agreement: The United States and President Trump are committed to working diligently to ensure the continuation of negotiations until a final agreement is reached.