Hamas demands Israeli withdrawal from Gazan residential areas

Hamas is calling for an amendment to the ceasefire proposal, requesting that Israeli forces withdraw over 800 metres from the territory’s residential parts, as The National reported on August 20th.

The announcement of the proposed amendment comes after Israel’s demand for the liberation of all 50 captives held in Gaza. This is in contrast to the present proposal, which would see the staggered release of captives.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim announced via a post on Facebook that the Palestinian group has accepted a ceasefire deal proposed by Arab mediators on August 18th.

“The movement has handed over its approval to the new proposal presented by the mediators,” Naim wrote.

Israel has not yet responded to the proposal, with senior Hamas officials believing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no intention of agreeing to the new draft.

Reportedly, Hamas has also accepted that it will not have authority over Gaza. “Hamas does not object to Gaza being administered by a body of local professionals, and governing the Strip is not a priority for Hamas. But the Palestinian Authority has not engaged positively, and if it seeks to rule Gaza alone, that will not succeed,” an official said.

Hamas has also agreed to disarm and store its weapons under global supervision and agreed to the deployment of an Arab force in Gaza under UN supervision for security purposes.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari claims that the proposal Hamas has agreed to is very similar to an earlier plan put forward by US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Israel had previously accepted the outline of the plan, before withdrawing from the negotiations in July 2025, pointing fingers at Hamas for the failure to reach an agreement.

Majed Al Ansari said on August 19th: “We received the response, as we said, from Hamas. It was a very positive response.”

“However, we are still, of course, awaiting the Israeli side’s response to this proposal.”

Reportedly, the plan stipulates a 60-day ceasefire deal and entry of humanitarian aid to the enclave to ease the spiralling humanitarian crisis. Furthermore, the agreement would see the exchange of 10 Israeli hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israel.