Hamas official says will respond to Israeli Gaza truce proposal in Egypt on Monday

A senior Hamas official on Sunday (Apr 28) said that the Palestinian militant group would announce its response to the latest Gaza ceasefire counterproposal by Israel in Egypt on Monday (Apr 29).

"A Hamas delegation headed by Khalil al-Hayya will arrive in Egypt tomorrow... and deliver the movement's response" to the Israeli proposal during a meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials, said the official who declined to be named.

Earlier this week, Egypt had sent its own delegation to restart the stalled negotiations even as the offensive in Gaza intensifies.

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Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been making repeated efforts to broker a new Gaza ceasefire deal after 80 Israeli hostages were released in exchange for 240 Palestinians in the month of November following a ceasefire deal.

Diplomatic efforts have been raked up in the past few days to broker a ceasefire and hostage-release deal.

Israel in its latest proposal has expressed a willingness to discuss the "restoration of sustainable calm" in Gaza after hostages are freed, news agency AFP said citing Axios report.

The report said that this was the very first time when Israel openly expressed having a discussion to put an end to the war.

"Hamas is open to discussing the new proposal positively," AFP quoted another Hamas source close to the negotiations as saying.

The source added that the group is "keen to reach an agreement that guarantees a permanent ceasefire, the free return of displaced people, an acceptable deal for (prisoner) exchange and ensuring an end to the (Gaza) siege".

The delegation, according to the source, would also discuss an Egyptian proposal concerning a ceasefire and a prisoner swap as a part of the overall deal to halt the fighting in Gaza.

He said the Egyptian proposal showed "some progress".

This, he said, guarantees that there would be no Israeli troops around on Al-Rashid road when displaced Palestinians make their way from the south of the territory back to the north.

It also proposes that Israeli forces remain 500 metres (yards) away from the main Salaheddin highway and also makes sure that the civilians are not shot at, arrested or detained when they return to their homes.

Al-Qahera News, which is linked to Egyptian intelligence services, reported "noticeable progress in bringing the views of the Egyptian and Israeli delegations closer".

(With inputs from agencies)