Palestinian president calls on Hamas to release hostages

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas terrorists to release the hostages in order to “block Israel’s pretexts” for continuing the war. He reiterated his demands that Hamas give up their arms, referring to them as “sons of dogs” in unusually strong language during a speech in the West Bank.

Abbas, who heads the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, has no influence over Hamas but seeks a role in postwar Gaza. Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said anyone making such insults has “lost their physical, psychological and mental eligibility for these leadership positions.”

Egypt and Qatar are developing a proposal that would begin with a long-term truce and the release of all remaining hostages, which would include the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to an Egyptian official and a Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.

France, Germany and Britain meanwhile said Israel’s seven-week blockade on imports to Gaza, was “intolerable.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein rejected the criticism, disputing in a post on social media that there is a shortage of aid in Gaza. He said Israel was entitled to block the aid because it says Hamas seizes it for its own use.

The Egyptian official said the proposed truce, with international guarantees, would last between five and seven years, and that a committee of politically independent technocrats would govern Gaza — a measure Hamas has accepted.

The Hamas official said the terrorist group is open to a long-term truce that includes the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and international guarantees, naming Russia, China, Turkey or the United Nations Security Council as possible guarantors.

The United Nations chief appointed a British human rights activist on Tuesday to carry out a strategic review of the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees to assess its impact under the”present political, financial, security and other constraints.”

There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials. Israel has ruled out any arrangement that would allow Hamas to preserve its influence in Gaza and rearm. The Trump administration, which has also been involved in the ceasefire talks, has said it fully supports Israel’s position.

In Yemen, Houthi terrorists launched a missile early Wednesday toward northern Israel, the first such attack by the group to reach the area as a monthlong intense U.S. airstrike campaign continues to target them. The Houthis separately claimed shooting down another American MQ-9 Reaper drone over Yemen.

Elsewhere, Jordan announced Wednesday a sweeping ban on the Muslim Brotherhood that could include shutting down the country’s largest opposition party, after accusing the Islamist group of planning attacks. The Islamic Action Front, a political party linked to the regionwide Brotherhood, won the most seats in parliamentary elections held last year against the backdrop of mass protests against Israel over its war with Hamas.

The war began when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. The terrorists still have 59 hostages, 24 of whom are believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 51,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 terrorists.