Hamas “submitted a positive response” to a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal, the group announced in a statement on Friday. Israel had already accepted the framework for the ceasefire, and the two sides are expected to begin formal negotiations over the war in Gaza.
The 60-day ceasefire, a proposal put together by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and mediators from Qatar and Egypt, would require Hamas to release 10 of the 20 Israeli hostages believed to be alive and to turn over the bodies of deceased hostages in return for Israel’s release of a number of Palestinian prisoners. Humanitarian aid would also be surged into Gaza.
After the release of hostages, the two sides would negotiate a permanent end to the war, a condition that had been a red line for the Israelis. Israel’s success in the recent 12-day air campaign against Iran may have given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the political leverage to bring the war in Gaza nearer to a close.
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