A Hamas source said on Monday that the Palestinian militants had agreed to a new proposal from mediators for a ceasefire in Gaza, devastated by more than 22 months of war between the Islamist group and Israel.
鈥楬amas has delivered its response to the mediators, confirming that Hamas and the factions agreed to the new ceasefire proposal without requesting any amendments,鈥� the Hamas source said.
A Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations said that mediators were 鈥榚xpected to announce that an agreement has been reached and set a date for the resumption of talks.鈥�
The source added that 鈥榤ediators provided Hamas and the factions with guarantees for the implementation of the agreement, along with a commitment to resume talks to seek a permanent solution.鈥�
There has been no immediate response from the Israeli government side to the development.
Efforts by mediators Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, have so far failed to secure a lasting ceasefire in the聽war, now in its 23rd month, which has created a dire humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
A separate Palestinian official earlier on Monday said that mediators had proposed an initial 60-day truce and hostage release in two batches.
A source from Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant faction that has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, said that the plan involved a 60-day ceasefire 鈥榙uring which 10 Israeli hostages would be released alive, along with a number of bodies鈥�.
According to the same source, 鈥榯he remaining captives would be released in a second phase, with immediate negotiations to follow for a broader deal鈥� for a permanent end to the war 鈥榳ith international guarantees鈥�, the source added.
Out of 251 hostages taken during Hamas鈥檚 October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war, 49 are still held in Gaza including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
Hamas鈥檚 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Israel鈥檚 retaliatory offensive has killed more than 62,004 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
