Hamas to study Trump peace plan

A HAMAS official said yesterday that the group still needed time to study a plan put forward by US President Donald Trump to end nearly two years of devastating war in Gaza.

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PALESTINIANS carry belongings on a coastal path northwest of Nuseirat refugee camp as they are displaced southward from Wadi Gaza following an Israeli announcement of closing Al-Rashid road towards the north of the besieged Gaza Strip this week.

(AFP)

The proposal, backed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas's disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. That would be followed by a postwar transitional authority headed by Trump himself.

"Hamas is still continuing consultations regarding Trump's plan ... and has informed mediators that the consultations are ongoing and need some time," the official said.

Trump on Tuesday gave Hamas an ultimatum of "three or four days" to accept his plan, which has been welcomed by world powers, including Arab and Muslim nations.

Mohammad Nazzal, a member of Hamas's political bureau, said yesterday that the "plan has points of concern, and we will announce our position on it soon".

"We are in contact with mediators and with Arab and Islamic parties, and we are serious about reaching understandings," he added.

On the ground yesterday, the Palestinian territory's civil defence agency -- a rescue force operating under Hamas authority - reported heavy air bombardment and artillery shelling on Gaza City.

The Israeli military has for weeks been waging an air and ground offensive on the territory's largest urban centre, from where hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee.