Hamas submits 'positive' response to Trump's ceasefire proposal for Gaza which could 'facilitate reaching a deal'
The Palestinian militant group accepted the framework of a new 60-day ceasefire and hostage-release deal which is expected to spark further discussions with the US to end the war, which has been raging since October 2023.
"We have handed the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, our response to the ceasefire proposal," a Hamas official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
"The Hamas response is positive and I think it should help and facilitate reaching a deal," said the Palestinian official close to the talks.
In the message to the mediators, Hamas said it was 'fully ready and serious to immediately enter a round of negotiations on the mechanism for implementing this framework".
The response comes after US President Donald Trump said he was awaiting a reply from both parties over the terms of the ceasefire.
Earlier in the week he said Israel had agreed "to the necessary conditions to finalise" the 60-day ceasefire.
Efforts to end the war in Gaza are set to take part during the ceasefire.
A ceasefire deal could also see the release of more hostages in Gaza, with Israel believing there are still 20 hostages alive, as well as the bodies of about 30 dead hostages.
In return, Israel would release a large number of Palestinians it is holding, while the IDF would slowly withdraw from particular areas of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, with the US President saying he would be "very firm" to his ally about the importance of a quick ceasefire.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 138 Palestinians in Gaza over the past 24 hours, local health officials said.
Health officials at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, said the Israeli military had carried out an airstrike on a tent encampment west of the city around 2 a.m., killing 15 Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war.
The Israeli military said troops operating in the Khan Younis area had eliminated militants, confiscated weapons and dismantled Hamas outposts in the last 24 hours, while striking 100 targets across Gaza, including military structures, weapons storage facilities and launchers.
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in nearly two years of fighting, most of them civilians, according to local health officials.
-With Reuters
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