Hamas informed the Egyptian and Qatari mediators that it has agreed to the latest Gaza hostage-ceasefire proposal, a source familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
Israel received Hamas’s proposal on Monday evening. An Israeli official told the Post that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will consider Hamas’s proposal despite it being only a partial deal that doesn’t include the release of all the hostages. However, according to sources, Israel’s position, which includes the release of all the hostages and other conditions to end the war, has not changed.
The proposal would see the release of 10 living Israeli hostages in return for a 60-day ceasefire, and the release of 150 terrorists serving life sentences. The proposal on the table would also see Israel suspend military operations in the Gaza Strip for 60 days and could be seen as a path to reach a comprehensive deal to end the war, an Egyptian official told Reuters.
Axios reported that Hamas’s response “aligns 98%” with the proposal by US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, which Israel had previously agreed to. This was later echoed by senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday, who stated that there is "no clause in the proposal we agreed on related to Hamas's weapons."
"We think we are at a stage where an agreement can be reached - when within 60 days we will work to reach a comprehensive agreement that will stop the war. On the first day of implementing the agreement, negotiations will begin on the comprehensive phase to end the war," al-Nunu added.
Earlier, reports emerged that the meeting between Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Palestinian factions, the Egyptian intelligence minister, and Hamas representatives “was positive,” the Qatari Al-Araby TV said on Monday.
The meeting also “demonstrated a heightened sense of responsibility and determination to end the war,” Al-Araby TV continued.
Qatar’s prime minister arrived in Egypt to meet with mediators regarding a potential hostage deal on Monday, sources familiar with the details told the Post.
Hamas received an updated ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar during a meeting also attended by representatives from several Palestinian factions, Al-Araby TV reported.
According to the Saudi-based Al-Arabiya, the Palestinian factions initially agreed to the new proposal, while the Hamas delegation requested time to discuss.
The updated proposal is reportedly a framework agreement with amendments to Hamas’s recent response, including a staged release of the remaining hostages and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Al-Arabiya also claimed that Egypt had asked that Hamas’s delegation remain in Cairo until an agreement is reached, giving them a deadline of a few hours to come to a decision.
Release of all hostages at once
On Saturday night, the Prime Minister’s Office stated that Israel would only accept a comprehensive deal that secures the release of all hostages at once.
This statement came amid renewed reports of Hamas’s flexibility on a phased ceasefire-hostage agreement.
“The Prime Minister’s Office clarifies that Israel will agree to a deal on condition that all the hostages are released in one go and in accordance with our conditions for ending the war, which include the disarming of Hamas, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli control of the Gaza perimeter, and the installation of non-Hamas and non-Palestinian Authority governance that will live in peace with Israel,” the statement read.
Trump said the remaining Gaza hostages will only be returned when “Hamas is confronted and destroyed” in a post to Truth Social on Monday.
“We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be.”
He also said, “Remember, I was the one who negotiated and got hundreds of hostages freed and released into Israel (and America!). I was the one who ended six wars in just six months.”
“I was the one who OBLITERATED Iran’s Nuclear facilities. Play to WIN, or don’t play at all! Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he ended his statement.
Reuters contributed to this report.