Hamas fighters preparing the release of Israeli hostages. Photo: Hamza ZH Qraiqea / AFP / Profimedia
Hamas said on Saturday that he responded to the proposal to cease the fire he presented to the mediators of US President Donald Trump, Steve Witkoff, and which included a request to conclude the war, which was a red line for Israel, Reuters reports.
The Palestinian organization said, in a statement, that based on the agreement it will release 10 live hostages and 18 inanimate bodies, in exchange for the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners from Israel, a position in accordance with Witkoff's proposal.
“This proposal aims to obtain a permanent cessation of fire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza strip and to ensure the flow of aid to our people and our families from the Gaza strip,” Hamas said.
The Islamic movement claims that the answer came “after a round of national consultations”.
The statement was not mentioned by possible requests to amend the proposal, but a familiar Palestinian official told Reuters that Hamas requested some amendments, although his answer was a positive one.
This week, the Israeli press reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of the hostages held in Gaza that Israel accepted the agreement presented by Witkoff. The Prime Minister refused to comment on the situation at that time.
The previous attempts to restore the armistice that collapsed in March were sabotaged by the deep differences between the two camps.
Israel insisted on the full disarming of Hamas, for the destruction of the organization as a military and government force, as well as to release all 58 hostages still held in Gaza.
Hamas rejected the request to give up weapons and says that Israel must withdraw his troops from Gaza and undertake to put an end to the war.
Israel launched the military campaign in Gaza as a respond to the attack by Hamas in the south of Israel on October 7, 2027, in which about 1,200 people died, and another 251 were taken as hostages in the Palestinian enclave, according to Israeli balance sheets.
Over 54,000 Palestinians died in the subsequent Israeli offensive, the health officials in Gaza say, and has transformed the enclave into a ruin.
