Hamas Open to Full Hostage Release and Five-Year Truce Deal
A Hamas official announced on Saturday that the group is prepared to reach a deal to end the Gaza conflict, which would involve the release of all remaining hostages in a single exchange and a five-year pause in hostilities.
“Hamas is willing to carry out a one-time prisoner exchange and agree to a five-year truce,” the official told AFP, requesting anonymity. His comments came as a Hamas delegation prepared for talks with mediators in Cairo later in the day.
On April 17, Hamas rejected an Israeli proposal offering a 45-day ceasefire in return for the release of 10 living hostages, criticizing it as a “partial” agreement. The group has repeatedly insisted that any ceasefire must include a complete end to the war, a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, a comprehensive prisoner swap, and immediate access for humanitarian aid into the devastated enclave.
Israel, meanwhile, maintains that the release of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas and other armed factions are non-negotiable conditions—terms Hamas firmly opposes.
The conflict erupted following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which left 1,218 people dead, mostly civilians, according to AFP figures based on Israeli official data.
Of the 251 hostages captured during the assault, 58 are still believed to be in Gaza, including 34 who are presumed dead, according to the Israeli military.
A previous truce between January 19 and March 17 led to the release of 33 hostages, eight of whom were deceased, in exchange for Israel freeing approximately 1,800 Palestinian prisoners.
Since the Israeli offensive resumed on March 18, at least 2,062 Palestinians have lost their lives, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The overall death toll in Gaza has now reached 51,439 since the beginning of the war.
