The Palestinian group Hamas (recognised as a terrorist organisation in the US and EU) said it had responded to the ceasefire proposal that President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff presented to mediators.
According to Reuters, citing a statement from the group, Hamas said it would release ten live hostages and 18 bodies in exchange for Israel’s release of a number of Palestinian prisoners, in line with Witkoff’s proposal.
The statement says the answer was given “after a round of national consultations.”
The statement did not mention that Hamas had sought any changes to the offer, but a Palestinian official familiar with the talks told Reuters that Hamas had sought some amendments and its response was favourable.
According to Egypt’s Al-Riyadh television channel, Hamas is proposing a three-stage release: four hostages on the first day of the ceasefire, two on the 30th day and four on the 60th day. the bodies of the dead are to be handed over on days 10, 30 and 50.
The response to Hamas also outlined demands including the free exit of Gazans through the Rafah crossing and the withdrawal of Israel Defence Forces troops, as well as the start of negotiations for a permanent ceasefire.
The Israeli source noted that Hamas has effectively abandoned the plan proposed by Steve Whitkoff and has put forward new conditions, the Israeli website Vesti writes.
BBC News reports that Hamas’ response cannot be seen as an outright rejection of the US proposal, nor as an agreement to it.
The Israeli prime minister’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this week, Israeli media reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had informed the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the agreement presented by Witkoff. The prime minister’s office declined to comment at the time.
Israel’s military operation began in response to a Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 that killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages, according to Israeli authorities. Since then, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting and the territory’s infrastructure destroyed, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry. There is no independent confirmation of the militants’ counts, nor is there a breakdown of the civilian and armed death toll.
International pressure on Israel is increasing, with more and more European countries demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza and the launch of a large-scale humanitarian operation.