Hamas says ‘ball is in Israel’s court’ after offer to release Edan Alexander, 4 dead hostages

A Hamas spokeman says that “the ball is in Israel’s court” after the terror group offered to release an Israeli-US hostage and return the bodies of four others as part of Gaza truce talks.

“We want to solidify the ceasefire agreement and force [Israel] to implement its terms,” Abdul Latif al-Qanou tells AFP, accusing Israel of “delaying” its enforcement.

He points to the ongoing blockage of humanitarian aid entering Gaza since March 2.

Following the offer on Friday, Israel said the Palestinian terrorists had “not budged a millimeter” in response to a proposal from US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy that Israel has accepted.

US envoy Steve Witkoff also rejected the Hamas offer, indicating it was disingenuous: Rather than accepting his own “bridge proposal,” Witkoff said in a statement, “unfortunately, Hamas has chosen to respond by publicly claiming flexibility while privately making demands that are entirely impractical without a permanent ceasefire.”

A Hamas political bureau member, speaking anonymously, tells AFP the proposal to release 21-year-old soldier Edan Alexander — abducted during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre — and return the bodies of four other Israeli-American hostages was part of a “unique agreement.”

In exchange, Israel would free Palestinian prisoners, with the number still under negotiation, the Hamas official says.

The official says the proposed exchange was conditioned with simultaneously starting negotiations for the implementation of the truce’s second phase, with the talks ending within a 50-day period, he says.

The proposal also called for the immediate opening of all border crossings to allow the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Philadelphi corridor, he adds.