Photo: Collected
A Hamas official said Sunday the Palestinian group was ready to discuss a hostage release deal with Israel even without a "complete" ceasefire.
The apparent easing of Hamas's position comes as long-stalled diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release have gathered pace with a new proposal and meetings hosted by Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
"Hamas had previously required that Israel agree to a complete and permanent ceasefire," the top official told AFP as the war entered its 10th month.
But mediators have offered assurances "that as long as the... negotiations continued, the ceasefire would continue", said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Israel, which vowed to destroy Hamas in response to the group's October 7 attack that sparked the war, has repeatedly rejected demands for a permanent ceasefire.
US President Joe Biden announced a plan in late May that included an initial six-week truce and the exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. Talks quickly stalled but a US official said Thursday that a new text from Hamas "moves the process forward and may provide the basis for closing the deal".
Egypt's state-linked Al-Qahera News said late Saturday that Cairo was "hosting Israeli and American delegations" and mediators were in contact with Hamas amid "intensive Egyptian meetings this week with all parties".
In Israel, anti-government protesters demanding a hostage release deal blocked roads in the commercial hub of Tel Aviv on a nationwide "disruption day" from 6:29 am, the time Hamas launched their attack on October 7.
Data scientist Yoni Peleg, 34, said protesters were crying "out for help... to end the war" and pressure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. The Hamas seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 42 the military says are dead. Israel has carried out a military offensive that has killed at least 38,153 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
Israel has said it would send a delegation to continue talks with Qatari mediators, though a government spokesman said Friday there were still "gaps" with Hamas. An official with knowledge of the mediation said US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director William Burns would also go to Qatar this week. If full negotiations start, Hamas expects them to take between two to three weeks, according to the official from the Islamist movement.
Messenger/Disha
