Get Guardian on GoogleA senior Hamas official said Tuesday the Palestinian Islamist movement expects to respond within 48 hours to an Israeli ceasefire proposal it received through mediators.
“Hamas will most likely send its response to the mediators within the next 48 hours, as the movement is still conducting in-depth consultations,” the official told AFP.
Hamas said Monday it had received Israel’s latest proposal to halt the war in Gaza, now in its 18th month.
The official said the offer includes a truce of at least 45 days in return for the release of 10 living hostages held in Gaza.
It also provides for the release of 1,231 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory, which has been under complete blockade since March 2.
The proposal calls for a “permanent end to the war” on the condition Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas, disarm, the official said.
Hamas has rejected the disarmament demand as a “red line” and “non-negotiable”.
Israel has yet to comment on the proposal’s contents.
Of the 251 hostages seized during the unprecedented October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
