Hamas on Saturday said it had responded to a ceasefire proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff, saying 10 living hostages would be freed from Gaza as part of the deal.
Earlier this week, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff proposed the deal, which includes a 60-day ceasefire. Israel had accepted Witkoff’s proposal.
While the militant group says it will release 10 living and 18 deceased hostages still held in Gaza, there appear to be other details that need to be worked out before a ceasefire is declared.
“As part of this agreement, 10 living prisoners of the occupation held by the resistance will be released, in addition to the return of 18 bodies, in exchange for an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners,” it added.
A breakthrough in negotiations had been elusive since a previous ceasefire fell apart on March 18 with the resumption of Israeli operations.
U.S. President, Donald Trump had said Friday that the parties were “very close to an agreement.”
Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war, 57 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead..
More than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel since the war began nearly 20 months ago when Hamas militants attacked Israel, killing about 1,200.
