Senior Hamas source says ceasefire deal ‘closer than ever’ – report

An unnamed Hamas leader is quoted by the Saudi Asharq News outlet saying that a ceasefire and hostage release deal is unprecedently close at hand.

“We are closer than ever to reaching a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal if [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu does not obstruct the agreement,” the terror group representative says, adding that Washington must now put pressure on the Israeli premier.

The source adds that Hamas has submitted a proposal showing “great flexibility,” which stipulates a “gradual end to the war and a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces according to an agreed-upon timetable, and guarantees from international mediators.”

Mediators have been intensifying contacts and talks to bridge the gaps and reach an agreement quickly, the Hamas leader says.

The final objectives of the terror group remain a permanent halt to hostilities, a complete IDF withdrawal, the return of displaced Gazans to their homes, and a fair deal for the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the terror group official adds.

Earlier Monday, the Lebanese al-Akhbar reported similar sentiments about Hamas’s eagerness for an agreement, while saying Netanyahu was also ready to ink a deal.

A source familiar with the negotiations tells Asharq News that Hamas has been informed that US President-elect Donald Trump wants a ceasefire and hostage release deal as soon as possible, before Trump’s inauguration and perhaps before the end of the year, and that “Hamas and the resistance [i.e., other Palestinian terror factions] are ready, but the problem lies with the occupation [i.e., Israel].”