Hamas terror group, has expressed willingness to release all remaining hostages in exchange for a permanent ceasefire, The Times of Israel reports.
A senior Palestinian official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations, according to the Jewish paper, revealed that despite Israel’s long-standing refusal of such an exchange, Hamas is still willing to release some hostages in exchange for an extension of the temporary truce.
Also, the official revealed that the group seeks assurances from mediators that Israel will eventually agree to enter talks for a permanent ceasefire – something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far refused to do.
Moreover, Hamas has insisted on sticking to the original terms of the January deal, which envisioned a transition to phase two on March 2.
This phase is supposed to see the return of all remaining living hostages in exchange for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and a permanent end to the war.
While Netanyahu signed onto the deal, he has long rejected those latter two clauses of phase two, arguing that this would allow Hamas to remain in power.
Accordingly, the Israeli PM has largely refused to hold talks regarding phase two of the deal, which were supposed to begin on February 2. Israel resumed intensive military operations throughout Gaza on March 18.
While Hamas for months had refused to accept proposals to extend phase one of the deal, the senior Palestinian official told The Times of Israel that the group recently submitted such a proposal.
Asked why Hamas was willing to propose an extension of phase one after long insisting that it would only agree to release additional hostages in phase two, the senior Palestinian official responds, “We had no other choice. The situation in Gaza is terrible” — an apparent indication that Israel’s military pressure and ban on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza have taken a toll.
The senior official said the latest Hamas offer was very similar to the one US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff presented last month and would secure the release of five Israeli hostages.
However, the proposal also included guarantees from the mediators that Israel would agree to hold talks on the phase two permanent ceasefire once the truce extension is in place.
But Israel rejected the latest Hamas offer and countered with its own proposal that demands the release of 11 hostages and does not include a commitment to hold talks on a permanent ceasefire, the Palestinian official says, adding that this was not acceptable to Hamas. “The talks are now at a standstill.”
“The number of hostages is not the issue. If Israel demonstrates its intention to reach a permanent ceasefire, [Hamas is] prepared to release all of the hostages,” the Palestinian official says. “Israel only wants a partial agreement so that it can continue fighting. It wants [Hamas] to give up all the hostages without entering the second phase.”
Witkoff appeared to solely argue in favor of direct talks with anyone the US is dealing with during an interview last month, but he ordered Boehler to halt his talks with Hamas shortly after they were leaked to the media last month, according to a US official familiar with the matter.
The senior Palestinian official said US President Donald Trump is the only one capable of ending the war, but has in the meantime decided to “give Netanyahu a green light to open the gates of hell on Gaza.
