Hamas delivers detailed response to proposed Framework Agreement at Paris meeting

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Hamas has issued a detailed response to the proposed "Framework Agreement" presented during the Paris meeting, addressing critical aspects of the agreement and outlining its position.

This article was originally published in and translated from Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

According to Al-Akhbar, the response, delivered to Qatari and Egyptian mediators, was also shared with US and Israeli representatives.

In the response, Hamas lays out its objectives, which include the cessation of mutual military operations, achieving sustained calm, exchanging prisoners, lifting the siege on Gaza, facilitating reconstruction efforts, and ensuring the return of residents and displaced persons to their homes.

The goals will be accomplished through a series of stages outlined in the agreement.

According to the draft shared by Al-Akhbar, in the first stage, which is a 45-day stage, Hamas proposes the release of all Israeli detainees, including women, children, the elderly, and the sick, in exchange for 1500 Palestinian prisoners.

Additionally, humanitarian aid would be intensified, Israeli forces would be repositioned away from populated areas temporarily, reconstruction activities would commence, and UN agencies would provide humanitarian services.

Egypt and Qatar are designated to lead efforts, alongside other necessary parties, to oversee the implementation of various aspects of the agreement, including the provision of aid, the reconstruction of infrastructure, and the restoration of essential services.

The subsequent stages will also last for 45 days. The second stage involves further negotiations on the cessation of military operations, the release of all male detainees, and comprehensive reconstruction efforts.

Key components include the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the complete lifting of the siege, and the establishment of shelters for residents.

Furthermore, the third stage aims to exchange bodies and remains of the deceased by both sides after their arrival and identification, continuing the humanitarian procedures of the first and second stages, according to what will be agreed upon in the first and second stages.

In the draft, Hamas included further details regarding the first stage and the immediate steps to de-escalate tensions and provide humanitarian relief.