Israeli television reported Friday that mediators see a willingness among some senior Hamas members to release a small number of hostages to secure a truce during the Ramadan-ending holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
The Kan public broadcaster acknowledged that it was still unclear what Hamas will ask in return for those it releases, though it did say that the freed hostages would include American-Israeli IDF lone soldier Edan Alexander, with the United States and Qatar intensively involved in the proposal.
Another Kan reporter said the deal was less about Eid al-Fitr and more to do with the protests that have broken out against Hamas throughout Gaza over the past several days.
Hamas wants to crack down on those participating in the protests and cannot do so due to Israel’s resumed operations in Gaza as the military is targeting terror operatives that it spots out in the open, according to the report.
A ceasefire, even of several days, would allow for Hamas to reign in on the protests, which have been a major source for distress within the Palestinian terrorist organization, the network claimed.
Kan’s report came a day after a senior Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel that Qatar presented Hamas with a new US proposal to restore the ceasefire through the release of Alexander, in exchange for which President Donald Trump would issue a statement calling for calm in Gaza and the resumption of negotiations for a permanent end to the fighting sparked by the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
Hamas already refused an earlier proposal from US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff, which sought to extend the first phase of the ceasefire, insisting on sticking to the terms of the deal signed in January, which was due to enter its second phase on March 2. That phase envisions the release of all remaining living hostages in exchange for a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to stop the war until Hamas’s military and governing capabilities have been dismantled and has accordingly refused to enter the second phase, instead pushing for an extension of the phase one temporary ceasefire. After more than two weeks in a holding pattern, Israel renewed intensive military operations throughout Gaza on March 18.
Hamas has yet to respond to the latest US proposal, but Qatari mediators told the terror group that compliance would create goodwill for them with Trump, making it more likely that he will push Netanyahu to agree to a permanent ceasefire, the diplomat added.
How Israel will respond to it is also unclear.
Amid the talks with mediators, a senior Hamas official said Friday that the negotiations were gaining momentum.
“We hope that the coming days will bring a real breakthrough in the war situation, following intensified communications with and between mediators in recent days,” Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said in a statement.
The talks aim to “achieve a ceasefire, open border crossings, (and) allow humanitarian aid in,” Naim said.
Most importantly, he said, the proposal aims to bring about a resumption in “negotiations on the second phase, which must lead to a complete end to the war and the withdrawal of occupation forces.”