Hamas Open To Five-Year Truce And Release Of Hostages As Israeli Strikes Continue In Gaza

Hamas is open to an agreement to end the Gaza war that would include the release of all the remaining hostages and a five-year cessation of hostilities. Israel demands the return of all the hostages and the disarmament of Hamas.

Israel demands the return of all the hostages and the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza. (File image.)

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Hamas said that it is open to an agreement to end the Gaza war that would include the one-time release of all the remaining hostages and also a five-year cessation of hostilities. According to news agency AFP, an official on condition of anonymity said, "Hamas is ready for an exchange of prisoners in a single batch and a truce for five years”.

Earlier, Hamas rejected an Israeli proposal that included a 45-day truce in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages. According to AFP, the group has consistently demanded that a truce agreement must lead to the end of the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a prisoner exchange, and the immediate and sufficient entry of humanitarian aid into the war-battered Palestinian territory.

Israel demands the return of all the hostages and the disarmament of Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the defence agency of Gaza said on Saturday that the Israeli strikes has killed at least 17 people across the territory, while more trapped under the rubble after a family home was hit. "Israeli air strikes in several areas killed 17 people since dawn," civil defence official Mohammed Al-Mughayyir told AFP.

Israel resumed its military campaign in Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month truce that had largely halted the fighting. 

A strike on the house of Al-Khour family in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood killed 10 people, Mughayyir said, with witnesses reporting an estimated 20 victims trapped beneath the rubble, reports The daily star.

The spokesman for the civil defence agency, Mahmud Bassal, had earlier said that about 30 people were missing under the rubble. 

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The Hamas attack in 2023 that triggered the war has resulted in the deaths of 1218 people, mostly civilians, reports AFP, quoting official Israeli figures.