The militant organisation Hamas is consulting with other Palestinian factions about new proposals from mediators aimed at reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Arabic news channel Al Jazeera reported late on Thursday.
“In the context of the movement’s commitment to ending the Zionist aggression against our people and ensuring the free entry of humanitarian aid, the movement is conducting consultations with the leaders of Palestinian forces and factions around the proposal it received from the brotherly mediators,” Al Jazeera cited a statement by Hamas as saying.
“The movement will submit a final decision to the mediators after the consultations are over and will announce that officially.”
The United States, Egypt, and Qatar, mediators in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, have recently presented a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza war.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Israel had agreed to the necessary conditions for the ceasefire to be finalised.
On Wednesday, Hamas said it would examine the proposal “with great responsibility.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, also commenting on Wednesday, said most of the Israeli government backs a Gaza agreement that includes the release of hostages.
The details of the new ceasefire proposal were not initially made public, but the New York Times, citing an Israeli defence official and a Palestinian close to Hamas, reported that the proposed deal includes the release of 10 living hostages and the return of 18 hostages’ bodies in exchange for the release of a number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
According to official Israeli figures, 50 people kidnapped from Israel are still being held in the Gaza Strip, at least 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
The release of the hostages and the return of the bodies are to take place in stages, in five groups over a period of 60 days, the newspaper reported.
The war was triggered by the attack on Israel by Hamas and other groups on Oct. 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage and brought to Gaza.
Since the Gaza war began nearly 21 months ago, more than 57,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, according to the health authority.
These figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants but are generally considered reliable by international agencies. (dpa/NAN)
