Hamas has accepted a US proposal to begin talks on releasing Israeli hostages, including soldiers and men, 16 days after the first phase of an agreement aimed at ending the Gaza war, a senior Hamas source says.
The militant Islamist group has dropped a demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before signing the agreement, and would allow negotiations to achieve that throughout a first six-week phase, the source told Reuters on Saturday on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.
A Palestinian official close to the internationally mediated peace efforts had said the proposal could lead to a framework agreement if embraced by Israel and would end the nine-month-old war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Forced displacement is again pushing people in Gaza to seek safety where there is none.— United Nations (@UN) Thousands have left Khan Younis, setting up makeshift shelters among the rubble & on the shore.@UNRWA's efforts to deliver aid are severely hampered by restricted access & security issues. pic.twitter.com/MVtJzTn5PtJuly 5, 2024
A source in Israel's negotiating team, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was now a real chance of achieving agreement.
That was in sharp contrast to past instances in the nine-month-old war in Gaza when Israel said conditions attached by Hamas were unacceptable.
A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
On Friday, his office said talks would continue next week and emphasised that gaps between the sides remained.
The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
The war erupted after Hamas attacked southern Israeli cities on October 7, killing 1200 people and taking some 250 hostages.
The new proposal ensured mediators would guarantee a temporary ceasefire, aid delivery and the withdrawal of Israeli troops as long as indirect talks continued to implement the second phase of the agreement, the Hamas source said.
The war in the Gaza Strip has displaced hundreds of thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis. (EPA PHOTO)
Efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza have intensified in the past few days with active shuttle diplomacy among Washington, Israel and Qatar, which is leading mediation efforts from Doha, where the exiled Hamas leadership is based.
A regional source said the US administration was trying hard to secure a deal before the presidential election in November.
Netanyahu said on Friday that the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency had returned from an initial meeting with mediators in Qatar and that negotiations would continue next week.
The war in Gaza has displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and caused a humanitarian crisis.
It has also fuelled tension across the region, triggering exchanges of fire across Israel's northern border with the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
Hamas said it had told Hezbollah it had agreed to a ceasefire proposal in Gaza and that the Lebanese group's leader had welcomed the step, two sources familiar with the matter said.
"If there is a Gaza agreement, then from zero hour there will be a ceasefire in Lebanon," said one of the sources, an official in Hezbollah, which says its rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel are in support of the Palestinians.