Hamas says ‘acceptable approaches’ reached on ‘contentious’ Gaza ceasefire issues

The Palestinian movement Hamas said Tuesday that "acceptable approaches" had been reached on the "contentious issues" of a Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel following talks in Cairo.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Anadolu that discussions in the Egyptian capital had produced "acceptable approaches from the parties participating in the talks regarding the contentious issues of the ceasefire agreement."

Qassem did not disclose the nature of these "approaches."

He said Hamas and other Palestinian factions had dealt "with flexibility and positivity" with proposals presented by mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye, "out of a national responsibility to stop the genocide in Gaza."

“The ball is now in the court of the (Israeli) occupation and the Board of Peace, represented by its executive director (Nickolay Mladenov,) in order to move toward real and full implementation of President Trump's vision for peace in the Strip," Qassem said.

"The matter depends on the ability of the mediators, guarantor states and the Borad of Peace to compel the occupation to stop its violations, killings and siege, and to accept these approaches in order to move into the second phase of the agreement,” he added.

While Hamas complied with the requirements of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, Israel reneged on its commitments and continued violating the deal, while talks on moving to the second phase have remained stalled.

Qassem accused Israel of seeking to "destroy the ceasefire agreement through its continued violations, daily killings, demolitions and bombardment, constantly shifting the Yellow Line westward, and restrictions on the entry of aid into the Strip."

The Yellow Line separates areas where Israeli forces are deployed in the east from areas where Palestinians are permitted to move in the west, and through it Israel controls around 60 percent of the Gaza Strip.

Israel has also prevented the entry into Gaza of the agreed quantities of food, medicine, medical supplies, shelter materials and prefabricated homes, where around 2.4 million Palestinians, including 1.5 million displaced people, are living in catastrophic conditions.

Qassem said Israel's actions "place the mediators, guarantor states and the US administration before a political, moral and legal responsibility to pressure the occupation to stop its violations and abide by what was agreed."

"Nearly 1,000 martyrs have fallen since the ceasefire in Gaza, which means the genocidal war is continuing and that we are living through an open massacre before the eyes of the world," he added.

There was no immediate comment from the relevant parties on Qassem's remarks.

Israel's genocide in Gaza since October 2023 has killed nearly 73,000 Palestinians and injured more than 173,000, most of them women and children, according to Palestinian figures.

Despite a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, the Israeli army has killed 978 Palestinians and injured 3,097 others in near-daily attacks, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul