Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the latter stated it was ready to start talks “immediately” on a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, reported AFP.
The announcement by Hamas arrived following it held consultations with other Palestinian factions and before a visit on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington.
The militant group statement said, as quoted by AFP, “The movement is ready to engage immediately and seriously in a cycle of negotiations on the mechanism to put in place the terms of a draft US-backed truce proposal received from mediators.”
Though Hamas ally Islamic Jihad said it supported ceasefire talks, it demanded “guarantees” that Israel “will not resume its aggression” once hostages held in Gaza are freed.
Earlier on Friday, on being asked about Hamas’s response aboard Air Force One, United States President Donald Trump said, “That’s good. They haven’t briefed me on it. We have to get it over with. We have to do something about Gaza.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to bring home the hostages, after coming under massive domestic pressure over their fate.
Mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, the region witnessed two ceasefires which resulted in temporary halts in fighting, coupled with the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
Also, a previous round of talks broke down in May with Hamas and Israel, as the primary point of contention being Israel’s rejection of Hamas’s demand for guarantees that any new ceasefire will be lasting.
Hamas stated it had given a “positive response” to a truce proposal from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, however, its request for a guarantee that hostilities would not resume had been rejected by Israel.
The latest proposal for a truce includes “a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release half of the living Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Israel releasing a number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees”, reported AFP quoting a source.
As per the details, among the 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
The Israel-Hamas war is nearly 21 months old and have created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip. Israel has recently expanded its military operations.