Hamas agrees to a 60-day truce in partial response to latest Gaza proposals
They said Hamas has unconditionally agreed to a 60-day truce during which sufficient humanitarian assistance will enter Gaza, chiefly through the Rafah crossing with Egypt in the south of the war-battered enclave.
Hamas has also agreed in principle to most of the maps Israel presented for the redeployment of its troops in Gaza, but wants them to pull out from Deir Al Balah in central Gaza – the theatre of a major continuing military operation by Israel – as well as Khan Younis in the south, the sources said.
'Hamas is reviewing the maps with other resistance factions in Gaza,' said one of the sources. 'We expect Hamas's final and full response within hours, but that can change.'
The sources spoke as President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to arrive in Europe on Thursday and Qatar on Friday, a sign that in the past has been interpreted to mean a deal was within reach.
However, optimism that mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the US were on the cusp of getting Israel and Hamas to agree to a deal has previously proved premature because of the intransigence of both Israel and Hamas.
Israel's President Isaac Herzog struck an upbeat note on Wednesday during a visit to Gaza, telling soldiers there were 'intensive negotiations' about returning the hostages held there. He said he hoped the soldiers will soon 'hear good news', according to a statement from the President's spokesperson.
Hamas, however, is yet to provide a final list of the names of the hundreds of Palestinians it wants released from Israeli prisons as part of the deal, they said.
The list is likely to include high-profile Palestinians serving long jail terms whom Hamas wants freed but Israel insists on keeping them incarcerated, they said. They include Marwan Barghouti, a senior leader of the mainstream Fatah faction who is widely tipped to be a possible successor to President Mahmoud Abbas.
Hamas was also expected to provide mediators with its final timeline for the release of 10 Israeli hostages and the remains of 18 others who died in captivity, according to the sources.
Hamas has previously proposed the release of the hostages in batches throughout the 60-day truce to ensure Israel's compliance with the terms of the agreement, but it appears that Israel has rejected that timeline and suggested an alternative, which Hamas is reviewing.
Hamas is believed to be holding around 50 hostages, of whom 20 are thought by the Israeli military to be alive.
Beside the truce and flow of relief aid into Gaza, where starvation is claiming more and more lives, the key provisions of the latest proposals include discussions on a long-term ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Hamas had wanted US guarantees that these talks would continue until an agreement is reached, but the sources said Hamas appears to have dropped that condition.
Israel, moreover, insists the war in Gaza will not end until Hamas's military and governing capabilities have been fully dismantled and all the hostages released. It's also demanding that Hamas lays down its arms and its leaders leave the territory to live in exile with their families.
Hamas has rejected Israel's demand that it surrenders its arms. Instead it suggested it was open to discussions on laying down its arms and storing them under international supervision when a long-term ceasefire is in place.
It has agreed to the departure into exile of its leaders provided that they and their families are not targeted by Israel.
The Gaza war was triggered when Hamas and its allies attacked southern Israeli communities, killing 1,200 and taking another 250 hostage. Israel's response has been a devastating military campaign that has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians and injured more than twice that many, according to Gaza's health ministry.
Nearly all the coastal enclave's 2.3 million residents have been displaced, more than once in many cases, and large swathes of built-up areas reduced to rubble.
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