Hamas says it received Israeli response on hostage swap, cease-fire proposal

ISTANBUL

Palestinian resistance group Hamas announced Saturday that it had received Israel's official response to a hostage swap and cease-fire proposal it sent to Egypt and Qatar on April 13.

"Hamas received Israel's official response to the movement's proposal delivered to mediators, Egypt and Qatar, on April 13," said Khalil al-Hayya, the group's deputy head in the Gaza Strip and head of its Arab and Islamic Relations Office.

"The movement will study this proposal, and upon completion, will submit its response to the mediators," added al-Hayya.

The Israeli response coincided with a visit by a top Egyptian security delegation to Tel Aviv on Friday to discuss a possible Gaza cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, according to Egyptian and Israeli media.

Private broadcaster Al Qahera news TV quoted an unnamed Egyptian source as saying that the delegation will discuss a comprehensive cease-fire framework, saying there was "significant progress" narrowing differences between the Egyptian and Israeli delegations.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation reported that security services "believe that this is the last opportunity to return the hostages from Gaza."

Israeli news website Ynet also confirmed the arrival of an Egyptian delegation in Israel to meet with officials in efforts to achieve a deal.

Hamas demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territory.

Tel Aviv believes 134 Israelis are being held in Gaza, while Israel is holding some 9,000 Palestinians in its jails.

Israel has killed more than 34,300 Palestinians since an Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack by Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 hostages taken.

A previous deal in November saw the release of 81 Israelis and 24 foreigners in exchange for 240 Palestinians, including 71 women and 169 children.

The US, Qatar and Egypt have tried to broker an agreement to release the remaining Israeli captives.

The conflict has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

Global calls for a cease-fire have been growing as the war has entered its seventh month.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi