Hamas has agreed to release 10 living Israeli hostages and return the bodies of 18 others in a US-proposed ceasefire, which would also see Palestinian prisoners and detainees released.
Washington has been pushing for a 60-day truce which would see the exchange of 28 of the 58 hostages still held in Gaza for more than 1,200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, along with the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave.
Hamas said it has responded positively to a ceasefire proposal presented by Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, but the Palestinian militant group has demanded an end to the war as one of its conditions – something which has been a red line for Israel.
The White House said on Thursday that Israel had already agreed to the proposals.
The Hamas statement added: “This proposal aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families in the Gaza Strip.”
It said its response came “after conducting a round of national consultations”.
Whether Hamas accepted the US terms in full isn’t entirely clear, but a Palestinian official familiar with the talks told Reuters news agency that Hamas sought some amendments while its response was positive.
Exactly which amendments Hamas has sought was not disclosed.
The office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet responded to the news.
Hamas and Israel have in recent weeks been at loggerheads during ceasefire negotiations, after resumed Israeli airstrikes in March saw a previous truce come to an end.
Israel has since insisted that Hamas disarm completely, be dismantled as a military and governing force and return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before it will agree to end the war.
Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.
Negotiations come as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza reaches a critical point, according to the UN and aid agencies on the ground. With a limited number of aid trucks finally rolling into the ravaged enclave following an 11-week aid blockade, aid agencies have struggled to prevent looting.
Overnight from Friday into Saturday, armed men hijacked dozens of aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip overnight and hundreds of desperate Palestinians joined in to take supplies, local aid groups said.
The United Nations said on Friday that the situation in Gaza is the worst since the start of the war began 19 months ago, with the entire population facing the risk of famine despite a resumption of limited aid deliveries earlier this month.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said it was continuing to hit targets in Gaza, including sniper posts and had killed what it said was the head of a Hamas weapons manufacturing site.
Israeli forces have cleared large areas of the Gaza Strip, squeezing the population of more than 2 million into an ever-narrower section along the coast and around the southern city of Khan Younis.
