Hamas rejects truce proposal that calls on Palestinian groups to 'surrender'

Hamas has rejected a ceasefire proposal that would see all armed groups in Gaza "surrender" to Israel, with the Palestinian movement accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging efforts to broker a truce and end the 18-month war.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Al Jazeera Arabic on Monday that the group was "open to all offers that alleviate the suffering of our people", but the latest draft Israeli proposal was demanding Palestinians agree to a "surrender."

"Netanyahu is setting impossible conditions to sabotage the ceasefire agreement," Abu Zuhri said.

"In its latest proposal, the occupation [Israel] does not commit to a full cessation of war - it only wants to receive the captives. We are ready to release all the living and dead captives at once in exchange for ending the war and withdrawal from the Gaza Strip," he said.

"Surrender is not an option for the Hamas movement, and we will not accept breaking the will of our people... Hamas will not surrender, will not raise the white flag, and will use all pressure cards against the occupation," he added.

According to the draft Israeli ceasefire proposal, a copy of which was seen by Middle East Eye, the initiative calls for 45 days of calm that would see all Israeli captives released as part of a phased deal.

The proposal, which comprises 12 points, said half of the Israeli captives need to be freed in the first week in exchange for food and aid to enter the war-battered enclave.

For more than six weeks, Israel, which is heavily backed by the US, UK, and other western powers, has refused to allow lifesaving supplies, including food, medicine, fuel, and cooking oil, to enter the strip.

Last week, the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations Network (PNGO) warned that the situation in Gaza had reached an "advanced stage of famine," exacerbated by the bombing of food warehouses, water desalination plants, and the shutdown of community kitchens.

The warning came hours after Israel's far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, vowed that "not even a grain of wheat" would enter Gaza.

Since the start of the war, United Nations experts and leading rights groups have accused Israel of carrying out a genocide against Palestinians.

In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of a range of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Days before the ICC issued its arrest warrants, a UN special committee report accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war and of prosecuting policies and practices in Gaza that may amount to a "possibility of genocide".

According to the Palestinian health ministry, at least 1,482 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since Israel broke the ceasefire last month.

The overall death toll is well over 50,000, with at least 10,000 Palestinians missing and presumed dead.