Hamas accepts proposed deal for ceasefire with Israel and hostage release: Source

Hamas has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire proposal with Israel that includes the return of half the hostages held in Gaza and Israel’s release of some Palestinian prisoners, an Egyptian official source said on Monday.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim confirmed the group’s approval on Facebook. Hamas said other Palestinian factions informed mediators of their approval also.

There was no Israeli response to the Hamas proposal itself but an Israeli official confirmed it was received. Egypt and Qatar have been mediating between the sides with US support.

Israel’s Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir, said his country was at a turning point in the Gaza war, “with its focus on enhancing the strikes against Hamas in Gaza City,” the military spokesman said in a statement.

In a video issued by his office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I, like you, hear the reports in the media, and from them you can get one impression – Hamas is under immense pressure.”

The Egyptian official source stated that the proposal accepted by Hamas included a suspension of Israeli military operations for 60 days and outlined a framework for a comprehensive deal to end the nearly two-year-old conflict.

A source familiar with the negotiations said the proposal closely mirrored an earlier plan put forward by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, which Israel had accepted.

⁠The mediators met Hamas representatives in Cairo on Sunday. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Qatari prime minister, joined the discussions on Monday and met both Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Hamas representatives, said an official briefed on the meetings.

Israel approved the plan to take control of Gaza City earlier this month, but officials had said it could take weeks to start, leaving the door open for a ceasefire, even though Netanyahu had said it would get under way “fairly quickly” and end the war with Hamas’ defeat.