Israel demands hostage release for Gaza ceasefire

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) — Hamas said Monday that Israel has offered a 45-day ceasefire if it releases half of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, which the United Nations said is now in the grip of its worst humanitarian crisis since the start of the war.

A Hamas official told Agence France-Presse that Israel had also demanded that the Palestinian militants disarm to secure an end to the Gaza war but that this crossed a “red line.”

Egyptian mediators passed on an Israeli proposal that “includes the release of half the hostages in the first week of the agreement, an extension of the truce for at least 45 days, and the entry of aid,” the official said.

Militants took 251 hostages during the 7 October 2023 attacks that set off the war. Some 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

The official said Hamas negotiators were going to Qatar, where the group has an office and the main mediation talks with Israel have been held. Israel did not immediately comment on the Hamas statement.

“Hamas informed the mediators that it is willing to agree to any proposal that includes a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the entry of aid,” the official said.

Israel resumed military operations in the Palestinian territory in March after the collapse of a two-month-old ceasefire amid differences over the next phase.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, with Israel blocking humanitarian aid since 2 March, before the truce disintegrated.

Medical supplies, fuel, water and other essentials are in short supply, the United Nations says.