Hamas says it responded to US truce proposal and will free 10 living hostages
Hamas on Saturday, May 31, 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. The Palestinian militant group did not explicitly say it had accepted the version of the proposal it received on Thursday, which reportedly included a provision for the release of 10 living hostages.
Hamas noted that its response had been made out of a "sense of responsibility toward our people and their suffering." The White House previously said the proposal had been approved in advance by Israel, which on Friday warned Hamas to either accept the deal and free the hostages "or be annihilated."
Hamas said in a statement on Friday that it had "submitted its response to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's latest proposal to the mediating parties." "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. US President Donald Trump had said Friday that the parties were "very close to an agreement."
Two sources close to the negotiations have said the deal involves a 60-day truce, potentially extendable to 70 days. It would see the release of five living hostages and nine bodies in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners during the first week, followed by a second exchange the following week, the sources said.
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.
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Saturday that at least 4,117 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed major operations on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,381, mostly civilians. Hamas's attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) tally based on official figures.
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