Senior Hamas source: Truce would continue during 1st phase of deal for so long as talks continue

A senior Hamas source says that a revised hostage-ceasefire deal proposal agrees that talks to release Israeli soldiers and remaining men would start in a 16-day period during the first phase of the agreement.

The source says that the proposal ensures that mediators would guarantee a temporary ceasefire, aid delivery, and withdrawal of Israeli troops as long as indirect talks continue to implement the second phase of the agreement.

The terror group has dropped a demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before signing the agreement, and would allow negotiations to achieve that throughout a first six-week phase, the source tells Reuters on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

The comments come as efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza were gathering momentum as Mossad chief David Barnea traveled to and from Qatar for negotiations and Hamas briefed Hezbollah on its latest proposal.

Hamas on Friday announced that it rejects the presence of foreign forces in Gaza, potentially derailing plans for the Strip’s postwar governance. According to Walla news, Barnea informed Qatari mediators that Israel rejects Hamas’s demand for a written commitment from mediators that the negotiations regarding the second phase of the ceasefire can extend indefinitely if needed.