Hamas accepts new truce proposal

Hamas has accepted a new proposal from mediators on Monday, providing for a 70-day truce in Gaza and the release of ten Israeli hostages, according to a source within the Palestinian Islamist movement, reports AFP.

"Hamas accepted the new proposal from U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, received through mediators," the source told AFP. Qatar, Egypt, and the United States are acting as mediators in this conflict.

The proposal, according to the source, provides for "a 70-day truce in exchange for the release of ten hostages in two phases. During the truce, negotiations will begin on a permanent cease-fire with American guarantees."

According to another Palestinian source close to the negotiators, "10 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas will be released in exchange for a 70-day truce, a partial [Israeli] withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners." "Five living Israeli hostages will be released during the first week of the agreement's implementation, and five before the end of the cease-fire period," according to the same source. The mediators presented this proposal in recent days, she added.

Israel, which has not yet publicly reacted to this proposal, announced last week the recall "for consultation" of its top officials in charge of negotiations in Doha while keeping a working team in the Qatari capital.

Witkoff reportedly rejected Hamas's claim that the group had accepted his proposal for an agreement on hostages and a cease-fire in Gaza, according to Axios journalist Barak Ravid. Also according to Ravid, Witkoff stated that Hamas's response to his offer was "disappointing and totally unacceptable."

After two months of truce, Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza on March 18 and intensified it on May 17, with the declared goal of annihilating Hamas and freeing the hostages kidnapped during the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil on Oct.7, 2023.

A cease-fire between January 19 and March 17 allowed for the release of 33 Israeli hostages from Gaza — including 8 dead — in exchange for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners.

The attack on Oct. 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data.

Of the 251 people abducted that day, 57 remain held in Gaza, at least 34 of whom are dead, according to Israeli authorities.

More than 53,977 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by the Israeli retaliatory campaign, according to data from Gaza's Health Ministry, deemed reliable by the U.N.