CAIRO (Dispatches) – Hamas is open to an agreement to end the war in Gaza that would see all captives released and secure a five-year truce, an official said Saturday ahead of talks with mediators.
A Hamas delegation was in Cairo to discuss with Egyptian mediators ways out of the 18-month war.
The Hamas official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the Palestinian resistance movement “is ready for an exchange of prisoners in a single batch and a truce for five years”.
The latest bid to seal a ceasefire follows an Israeli proposal which Hamas had rejected earlier this month as “partial”, calling instead for a “comprehensive” agreement to halt the war.
The Israeli offer included a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of 10 living captives.
Hamas has consistently demanded that a truce deal must lead to an end to the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a surge in humanitarian aid into the besieged territory -- where on Friday the United Nations warned food stocks were running out.
The Zionist regime demands the return of all captives seized in the 2023 operation, and Hamas’s disarmament, which the group has rejected as a “red line”.
More than a month into a renewed Israeli aggression in Gaza after a two-month truce, a Hamas official said earlier this week that its delegation in Cairo would discuss “new ideas” on a ceasefire.
Hamas announced on Saturday that a leadership delegation from the group has begun meetings with Egyptian officials in Cairo to discuss its vision for ending the Gaza war and a potential prisoner exchange with the Zionist regime.
In a statement, Hamas said its vision is based on achieving a “comprehensive deal, which includes a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the reconstruction of the enclave.”
The movement added that its delegation will also discuss “the impact of Israel’s starvation policy in Gaza and stress the urgent need to deliver humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, to the territory.”
Hamas also said its delegation will address “efforts to form a Community Support Committee to help manage the Gaza Strip, alongside discussions on some internal Palestinian developments and ways to deal with them.”