Hamas and U.S. Reach Gaza Ceasefire “Understanding”—Israel Rejects It, U.S. Envoy Publicly Blames Hamas
Drop Site has been shown the full text of the document. Here are the details.
The below report was compiled by Jeremy Scahill, Jawa Ahmad, and Herman Gill. For the latest, breaking updates, follow Drop Site News on X.
Overnight, Hamas and U.S. officials reached a verbal “understanding” on the framework of a Gaza ceasefire, sources involved with the negotiations told Drop Site’s Jeremy Scahill.
Drop Site has been shown the full text of the document outlining the terms to which Hamas agreed. Some of these details have also been confirmed by sources interviewed by Al Jazeera and Al-Mayadeen. Scahill reports that the understanding was communicated to Hamas through Palestinian-American intermediary Bishara Bahbah in coordination with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
Hamas accepted the terms in the document and was told the U.S. believed the framework could work—pending Israeli approval. A senior source from Hamas told Scahill: "We have accepted the Witkoff proposal, 60 day temporary cease fire for releasing 10 living Israeli prisoners (5 at the beginning and 5 [at the end]), President Trump will personally announce the agreement."
But before the deal could advance, Israeli officials rushed to the media to kill it. Soon after, Witkoff publicly accused Hamas of misrepresenting the proposal—directly contradicting what sources told Drop Site had been agreed to in private discussions.
The negotiations are ongoing.
What Hamas Believed It Had Secured
The 13-point document shown to Drop Site, based on Hamas’s direct talks with the U.S. through intermediary Bishara Bahbah, included the following:
A 70-day ceasefire.
The release of 10 living Israeli captives in two batches, half on the first day and the other on the last day. Hamas would also release the bodies of 16 deceased captives. Hamas said it needed a two-week window to locate all burial sites.
A personal, public guarantee from Trump, committing to the ceasefire and the pull back of Israeli forces to their March 2 positions.
The resumption of unrestricted aid, including food, fuel, medicine, housing materials and construction equipment.
A cessation of all Israeli military operations, including surveillance activities. A cessation of all armed activities by Palestinian resistance groups.
Witkoff would personally, as a guarantor, sign a ceasefire deal in Doha and shake hands with Hamas’s lead negotiator, Dr. Khalil Al-Hayya.
Witkoff would head the U.S. delegation, which would also include Adam Boehler and Bahbah.
Trump would publicly thank all parties, including Hamas, reaffirming his commitment to the ceasefire and a lasting resolution between Israel and Palestine.
Upon signing of the ceasefire, an independent, technocratic committee of Palestinians would immediately take charge of Gaza’s governance, and reconstruction efforts would commence.
The U.S. and regional mediators would guarantee continued ceasefire negotiations and aid entry after 70 days, until a permanent ceasefire is reached.
As long as negotiations continue, the U.S. would remain committed to a ceasefire and facilitating aid entry until a permanent peace agreement is reached.
Hamas initially proposed a 90-day ceasefire, then said it would accept a 70-day version to align with the U.S. position. Israel wanted a shorter window. Hamas subsequently told Scahill it had agreed to an intial 60 day truce.
Sources told Drop Site that Qatar, particularly in the wake of Edan Alexander’s release, applied pressure on Trump to secure this agreement. As Drop Site previously reported, Witkoff promised Hamas that aid would resume to Gaza two days after Alexander’s release and Trump would call for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the war. Neither of those happened.
Trump, according to sources, has been telling regional leaders that he had given Israel two months to accomplish its objectives after Israel abandoned the January ceasefire deal, and now is the time to bring the war to an end.
U.S. Gives Proposal to Israel—Israel Publicly Kills It
According to Ynet and the Jerusalem Post, the proposal was delivered to Israel late Sunday by U.S. officials. "The eagerness with which it was killed in Israel indicated a deep fear that Washington would accept it and even try to impose it," YNet reported. Israeli officials reacted with alarm:
➤ One Israeli official told Ynet: “Accepting it is in effect surrender to Hamas.”
➤ Another claimed: “We don’t know what the Americans will say.”
The draft—formulated by Bahbah in direct talks with Hamas—was immediately declared unacceptable by Israel. The rejection came before any public U.S. comment.
U.S. Reversal: Witkoff Blames Hamas
Shortly after Israeli officials told local media they had rejected the deal, Witkoff told Axios’s Barak Ravid, “What I have seen from Hamas is disappointing and completely unacceptable.”
This contradicted what Hamas had been led to believe during talks with U.S. mediators. According to Scahill, Hamas was told the proposal met U.S. requirements and that the next step was for Witkoff and others to work on securing Israeli approval. Witkoff’s statement gave Israel diplomatic cover to walk away.
Channel 12 reported that during discussions, Hamas believed it had secured American guarantees for a permanent end to the war. But Israeli officials now insist there was no such commitment.
According to the outlet: “Israel insists that the Trump administration stands by them on this matter, and that the American commitment is only to the actual conduct of negotiations to end the war—with no guarantees of results.” This directly contradicts what Hamas understood from U.S. intermediaries.
Trump is expected to personally guarantee any final deal, including humanitarian aid and a troop withdrawal, according to Al Jazeera. There is no doubt that the only factor that matters is whether Trump will force a ceasefire on Israel. As history has shown, Netanyahu will do everything in his power to sabotage an agreement. Trump told reporters last night: “We want to see if we can stop this whole situation as soon as possible.” But so far, his envoy is standing with Israel.
As soon as Hamas releases the hostages Israel will go back to murdering people, and Trump doesn't care.
another important article. Thanks for showing us what actual reporting looks like.