Hamas officials call for ceasefire in leaked messages – www.israelhayom.com

According to several Middle East and U.S. officials, Israel’s nine-month offensive in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack likely prompted Hamas to soften its demands in cease-fire negotiations. Associated Press (AP) reported.

Hamas appeared to back down from its long-standing insistence that Israel commit to ending the war as part of any eventual ceasefire deal, a surprise move that sparked renewed optimism about progress in the internationally mediated negotiations.

Recent internal communications seen by AP reveal messages signed by several senior Hamas officials in Gaza urging the organization’s political leadership in Qatar, where Hamas’s supreme leader Ismail Haniyeh is based, to accept the cease-fire proposal put forward by U.S. President Joe Biden.

The messages, shared by a Middle East official speaking on condition of anonymity, detailed Hamas’s heavy losses and dire conditions in Gaza, potentially explaining their softening stance in ceasefire talks.

The intelligence official showed the AP a transcript of the Arabic communications from May and June, but declined to share specific details about how the information was obtained or the raw form of the communications.

While it is unclear whether this internal pressure has influenced Hamas’ flexibility, the messages suggest divisions within the group and a willingness among its top members to reach a deal quickly. This is despite the potential reluctance of Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s top official in Gaza, who has been in hiding since the start of the war and is reportedly sheltering in an underground tunnel.

Two U.S. officials, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Americans were aware of internal divisions within Hamas. They suggested that those divisions, the destruction in Gaza or pressure from Egyptian and Qatari mediators may have contributed to Hamas’s softening of demands for a deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that military pressure, including the ongoing two-month offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, “is what led Hamas to enter into negotiations.”

Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha rejected suggestions of divisions within the group, saying that “the movement’s position is unified and crystallized through the organizational framework of the leadership.”