CAIRO: Hamas has accepted a US proposal to start talks on releasing Israeli captives, including soldiers and men, 16 days after the first phase of an agreement aimed at ending the Gaza war.
Reuters cited a senior Hamas source as saying that the Hamas has dropped a demand that Israel first commit to a permanent truce before signing the deal, and would permit negotiations to achieve that throughout the six-week first phase.
Similarly, a Palestinian official said the proposal could lead to a framework deal to end the nine-month-old war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza. A source in Israel’s negotiating team told Reuters on the condition of anonymity, that there was now a real chance of achieving agreement between the two parties. That was in sharp contrast to past cases in the nine-month-old war, when Israel stated conditions attached by Hamas were not acceptable.
A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister did not immediately react over the matter, however, on Friday his office stated that talks would continue next week and emphasized that gaps between the two parties still remained.
Gaza Health Ministry said that the war has claimed the lives of more than 38,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7. Similarly, Israel said that 1,200 people were killed during the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Hamas source said that the new proposal ensures that mediators would guarantee a temporary truce, aid delivery and the withdrawal of Israeli forces as long as indirect talks continue to execute the second phase of the deal.
Efforts to secure a truce and captive release in the Gaza Strip have intensified over the last few days with active shuttle diplomacy among US, Israel and Qatar, which is leading mediation efforts from Doha.
A regional source disclosed that the US administration was attempting hard to secure an agreement before the presidential elections in November. Netanyahu stated on Friday that the head of Israel’s Mossad had returned from an initial meeting with mediators in Doha and that talks would continue next week.
