Report: Hamas rejects latest Israeli hostage proposal 'without reading it'
'The messages from Hamas are bizarre because we haven't sent it yet, nobody has read it yet. Even the negotiators haven't got it yet'
Hamas on Friday rejected Israel's latest proposal for a hostage release deal before they had a chance to see its contents, according to a report citing Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian sources.
The latest Israeli proposal fell short of meeting the Palestinian jihadists' key demand of unrestricted return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, according to the officials cited by Reuters.
Israeli authorities are reluctant to greenlight this in the knowledge that Hamas terrorists would infiltrate those areas of the enclave civilians would return to.
"The messages from Hamas are bizarre because we haven't sent it yet, nobody has read it yet. Even the negotiators haven't got it yet. They will read it before transferring it to Hamas for their reaction," said an unnamed Israeli official.
In a speech to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was engaged "in intense efforts" to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.