Hamas agrees to release 5 Israeli hostages for 50-day ceasefire

Hamas has allegedly agreed to free five living Israeli hostages in exchange for a 50-day ceasefire, The Guardian writes.

Hamas’s chief, Khalil al-Hayya, reportedly said on Saturday that the militant group expressed willingness to release the five hostages over the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, which begins on Sunday, after a proposal it received two days ago from Egypt and Qatar, Reuters has reported.

“Two days ago, we received a proposal from the mediators in Egypt and Qatar. We dealt with it positively and accepted it,” Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised speech.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said after “a series of consultations pursuant to the proposal that was received from the mediators, Israel conveyed a counter-proposal in full coordination with the US’’.

Netanyahu’s government insists on the release of 10 of the 24 hostages believed to still be alive in Gaza, according to media reports quoting officials in Israel. Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s 2023 attack on Israel, 58 remain in Gaza including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas is reportedly open to releasing their bodies. In exchange, Israel is supposed to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.