Hamas agrees to 'immediately' enter talks on 60-day Gaza ceasefire plan

By Fares Akram and Shamim Adam

 

Hamas said it is ready to “immediately” start negotiations with Israel on a proposal by US President Donald Trump for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza. 

A deal on the framework would see Hamas return half of the 50 hostages it still holds and pursue mediated talks with Israel to end the war. The proposal, accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will be one of the major topics during his visit to Washington where he will meet with Trump on Monday. 

 

“The Hamas movement has completed its internal consultations and discussions with Palestinian factions and forces regarding the latest proposal put forward by the mediators,” the group said in a statement. “The movement has submitted its response to the brothers mediators, characterized by a positive spirit.”

 

An agreement would pause, if not end, a war between Iran-backed Hamas and Israel that’s raged since October 2023, killing tens of thousands of Palestinians, devastating Gaza and destabilizing the wider Middle East. 

 

Trump said late Friday that “there could be a Gaza deal next week,” and he was “very optimistic but it changes day to day.” 

 

While Netanyahu’s government weeks ago agreed to the US proposal, Washington and the other main mediators — Qatar and Egypt — couldn’t get the sides to overcome key sticking points. Hamas had said any ceasefire must end the war and also refused Israel’s demands to disarm and remove itself from power in Gaza.

 

Israel has intensified military operations even as it agreed to talks. The army ordered tens of thousands of people to leave the outskirts of Gaza City since Tuesday and stepped up air strikes and incursions in the northern city, leading to an increase in the number of fatalities.