Hamas’s draft reintroduces terms from a deal that Hamas said it made with Witkoff on May 25. Israel rejected that document and four days later, on May 29, Witkoff and Israel announced new terms, which would permit Israel to resume its genocidal war after 60 days and to keep its forces entrenched deep inside Gaza. It contained no guarantees for allowing the unrestricted flow of food, medicine, fuel and other life essentials to the Gaza Strip.
In a post on X Saturday, soon after he received Hamas’s response, Witkoff denounced Hamas’s draft. “It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backward. Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” Witkoff wrote. “That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days… and in which we can have at the proximity talks substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire.”
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim disputed Witkoff’s characterization. “We did not reject Mr. Witkoff’s proposal. We agreed with him on a proposal, which he deemed acceptable for negotiation. We then received the other party's response (the Israelis) through Mr. Witkoff, which rejected all that we had agreed upon with him,” Naim told Drop Site. “Nevertheless, we responded positively and responsibly, responding to him in a manner that fulfilled the aspirations and demands of our people. Why is the Israeli response considered the only response for negotiation? This violates the integrity and fairness of mediation and constitutes a complete bias towards the other side.”