JERUSALEM, Nov 15, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A senior Hamas official said Friday that 
the group is "ready for a ceasefire" in Gaza and urged US President-elect 
Donald Trump to pressure Israel to end the war.

"Hamas is ready to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip if a ceasefire 
proposal is presented and on the condition that it is respected" by Israel, 
Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim told AFP.

"We call on the US administration and Trump to pressure the Israeli 
government to end the aggression.

"Hamas informed the mediators that it is in favour of any proposal submitted 
to it that would lead to a definitive ceasefire and military withdrawal from 
the Gaza Strip, allowing the return of displaced people, a serious deal for a 
prisoner exchange, the entry of humanitarian aid and reconstruction," Naim 
added.

The demands are the same ones Hamas has made in successive rounds of 
ceasefire negotiations since the start of the war.

On the campaign trail, Trump promised peace in the Middle East and has vowed 
to give freer rein to Israel.

Naim's comments come after Qatar said Saturday that it had suspended its role 
as a key mediator for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal until Hamas 
and Israel show "seriousness" in talks.

The Gulf emirate, which has hosted Hamas's political leadership since 2012 
with US blessing, has been involved in months of protracted diplomacy aimed 
at ending the war triggered by the Palestinian group's attack on Israel on 
October 7 last year.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, 
according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 43,764 people in Gaza, most of them 
civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health 
ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.