Hamas agrees to Gaza ceasefire proposal, the group's chief says

Hamas has agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal it received two days ago from mediators Egypt and Qatar, the Palestinian militant group's chief said on Saturday.

"Two days ago, we received a proposal from the mediators in Egypt and Qatar. We dealt with it positively and accepted it," Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised speech.

"We hope that the (Israeli) occupation will not undermine (it)," said Hayya, who leads the Hamas negotiating team in indirect talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza that erupted in October 2023.

Security sources told Reuters on Thursday that Egypt had received positive indications from Israel over a new ceasefire proposal that would include a transitional phase.

The proposal suggests Hamas release five of the Israeli hostages it is holding each week, the sources said.

The Israeli prime minister's office said it had held a series of consultations according to the proposal that was received from the mediators, and that Israel had conveyed to the mediators a counter-proposal in full coordination with the United States.

Reuters asked the prime minister's office if it had also agreed to the ceasefire proposal but it did not immediately respond.

PHASED CEASEFIRE

The first phase of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force on Jan. 19 after 15 months of war and involved a halt to fighting, the release of some of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners.

Phase two of the three-phase deal is intended to focus on agreements on the release of the remaining hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Hamas says any proposals must allow the launch of the second phase, while Israel has offered to expand the first 42-day phase.

In response to calls on Hamas to disarm by Israel and the United States, Hayya said the group's arsenal was a red line and that it would not disarm as long as the "Israeli" occupation exists.

Israel and the U.S. say Hamas must not have a role in post-war Gaza arrangements.

Israeli military strikes on Gaza continued on Saturday, killing at least 20 Palestinians across the enclave, health authorities said.

The Israeli military said it had begun "ground activity" in the Jneina neighbourhood of the Rafah area to expand what it described as the security zone in southern Gaza.

On March 18, Israel resumed bombing and ground operations in Gaza, which it said were intended to increase pressure on Hamas to free hostages.

It has since issued evacuation orders to tens of thousands of residents in several areas in the northern and southern Gaza Strip, citing rocket firing into Israeli territories.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli offensive in Gaza, Palestinian officials say.

Israel began its offensive after thousands of Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Reuters