Hamas open to five-year truce in Gaza, freeing hostages in a single batch

An official from the Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Saturday that it is open to an agreement to end the ongoing war, that would include the one-time release of all remaining hostages and a five-year cessation of hostilities. 

While speaking to news agency AFP on the condition of anonymity, the official said that "Hamas is ready for an exchange of prisoners in a single batch and a truce for five years". 

This comes after Hamas, which opposes a "partial" ceasefire agreement, rejected an Israeli proposal that included a 45-day truce in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages on April 17. 

The group has consistently demanded that a truce agreement must lead to the end of the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, a prisoner exchange, and the immediate and sufficient entry of humanitarian aid into the war-battered Palestinian territory.

The group has repeatedly insisted that a cease-fire deal must result in the war's end, Israel's complete withdrawal from Gaza, the exchange of prisoners and the prompt and adequate delivery of humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip. 

The Gaza war started after a surprise assault launched by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. The militants killed close to 1200 people, abducted hundreds and injured thousands. Some of those kidnapped are still being held. 

Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least 17 people across the territory, while more were trapped under the rubble after a family home was hit. 

"Israeli air strikes in several areas killed 17 people since dawn," civil defence official Mohammed Al-Mughayyir told AFP. A strike on the house of the Al-Khour family in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood killed 10 people, Mughayyir said. As per reports, some witnesses reported an estimated 20 victims trapped beneath the rubble. 

Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency, had earlier said that about 30 people were missing under the rubble. Umm Walid al-Khour, who survived the attack, said that "everyone was sleeping with their children" when the strike hit.