Hamas Agrees to 5-Year Ceasefire in Gaza; Here's What They Want

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Hamas is open to a deal to end the war in Gaza involving the release of all Israeli hostages and securing a five-year ceasefire, a senior official said on Saturday. As reported by Channel NewsAsia, the statement came as the group's negotiators held talks with mediators.

The Hamas delegation is in Cairo for discussions with Egyptian mediators on a way out of Israel's 18-month-long siege, while on the ground, rescuers said at least 40 people were killed in Israeli attacks.

Almost eight weeks after Israel's aid blockade, the United Nations (UN) said food and medical supplies were nearly exhausted.

A Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Palestinian militant group was "ready for a prisoners swap in one go and a five-year ceasefire."

The latest effort to seal a ceasefire followed an Israeli proposal rejected by Hamas earlier this month as "partial" and instead called for a "comprehensive" agreement to halt the war triggered by an attack on October 7, 2023.

Israel's rejected offer, according to a senior Hamas official, included a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of 10 hostages still alive.

Hamas consistently demands that any ceasefire deal must lead to the end of the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and a surge in humanitarian aid.

Israel's withdrawal of troops and "a permanent end to the war" would also happen, as outlined by then US President Joe Biden, under the second phase of the ceasefire that began on January 19 but collapsed two months later.

Hamas has called for negotiations in the second stage, while Israel wants to extend the first stage.

Israel demands the return of all detainees and the disarmament of Hamas, which the group rejected as a "red line".

"This time we are going to demand guarantees on ending the war," said Mahmud Mardawi, a senior Hamas official, in a statement.

"The occupation can return to war after a partial agreement but cannot do so with a comprehensive agreement and international guarantees."

Meanwhile, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan reiterated that "any proposal that does not include a comprehensive and permanent cessation of war will not be considered."

"We will not lay down arms as long as the occupation continues," he said in a statement.

"HOUSE COLLAPSED"

Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza on Saturday.

Mohammed al-Mughayyir, an official in the civil defense rescue body, said the death toll had increased to at least 40 people.

In Gaza City, in the northern area, civil defense said an attack on the Khour family home killed 10 people and trapped about 20 others in the rubble.

Umm Walid al-Khour, who survived the attack, said "everyone was sleeping with their children" when the attack happened and "the house collapsed on us."

Elsewhere in Gaza, 25 more people were killed, rescue teams said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the latest strike, but it said "1,800 terror targets" had been hit across Gaza since the military operation resumed on March 18.

The military added that "hundreds of terrorists" were also killed.

Qatar, the United States, and Egypt have been mediating the ceasefire that began on January 19 and allowed for a surge in aid, as well as the exchange of hostages and Palestinian detainees held by Israel.

As Israel and Hamas failed to agree on the next phase of the ceasefire, Israel halted all aid to Gaza before resuming airstrikes, followed by a ground incursion.

"SLOW DEATH"

Since then, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory, at least 2,111 Palestinians have been killed, taking the death toll in the Gaza war to 51,495, mostly women and children.

Hamas attacks that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.

However, in an interview, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant admitted that a number of civilian casualties that day were killed by Israeli Apache helicopters under the Hannibal Order. The order was intended to prevent any Israeli citizens from being kidnapped alive by the enemy.

Hamas also kidnapped 251 people, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 that the Israeli military says were killed in their own bombing.

Israel said the military operation aimed to force Hamas to release remaining prisoners.

On Friday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said community kitchens supplying food in Gaza "are estimated to run out of food in the coming days."

On Saturday, lines of people waiting for food were seen outside the community kitchens.

"There is no food in the community kitchen, no food in the market... There is no flour or bread," said northern Gaza resident Wael Odeh.

A senior UN official, Jonathan Whittall, said Gaza residents were "dying a slow death."

"This is not just about humanitarian needs but also about dignity," said Whittall, head of the UN OCHA office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian territories, to reporters.

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