Hamas' latest offer: 5 year Gaza truce for releasing all hostages

A senior Hamas official stated on Saturday that the group is open to a five-year ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which would include the one-time release of all remaining Israeli hostages. Speaking to AFP, the official said, “Hamas is ready for an exchange of prisoners in a single batch and a truce for five years,” as a delegation traveled to Cairo for negotiations with Egyptian mediators.

However, an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post that the five-year ceasefire proposal “is not really new and not conveyed recently by the mediators to Israel.” The Israeli official emphasized that although the report suggests a shift, it has not been formally presented as part of ongoing mediation efforts.

The Hamas delegation, led by senior figures including Mohammed Darwish, Khaled Mashal, Khalil al-Hayya, Zaher Jabarin, and Nizar Awadallah, arrived in Cairo to discuss a comprehensive ceasefire plan that would entail the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. According to Taher Al-Nono, a media adviser for Hamas leadership, “The idea of a truce or its duration is not rejected by us, and we are ready to discuss it within the framework of negotiations. We are open to any serious proposals to end the war.”

Despite the willingness to engage in truce talks, Hamas firmly rejected one of Israel’s core demands: disarmament. “The weapon of resistance is not negotiable and will remain in our hands as long as the occupation exists,” Nono asserted. While some Hamas officials suggested the possibility of transferring weapons to any future governing body in Gaza, the group maintains that surrendering arms is a "red line."

Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel downplayed the potential breakthrough, stating, “The war could end tomorrow if Hamas released the remaining 59 hostages and laid down its weapons.”

The conflict, reignited after Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, in which over 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 250 abducted, has seen several failed ceasefire negotiations. An earlier Israeli proposal, which included a 45-day truce in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages, was rejected by Hamas as a “partial” and insufficient agreement.

Currently, Israel maintains its position that any ceasefire must include both the return of all hostages and the complete demilitarization of Gaza, conditions that Hamas continues to oppose.