Hamas is ready to immediately negotiate an agreement to swap all hostages for an agreed number of Palestinians jailed by Israel as part of a broader deal to end the war in Gaza, the Palestinian resistance group's chief for the enclave said on Thursday.
In a televised speech, Khalil Al-Hayya, who leads the Hamas negotiating team for indirect talks with Israel, said the group would not accept any "partial" cease-fire deal in Gaza, signalling rejection of Israel's latest proposal.
"(Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his government use partial agreements as a cover for their political agenda, which is based on continuing the war of extermination and starvation, even if the price is sacrificing all his prisoners. We will not be part of passing this policy," said Al-Hayya.
He said Hamas "seeks a comprehensive deal involving a single-package prisoner exchange in return for halting the war, a withdrawal of the occupation from the Gaza Strip, and the commencement of reconstruction" in the enclave.
Egyptian mediators have been working to revive the January cease-fire agreement that halted relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza before breaking down last month, but there has been little sign of progress with both Israel and Hamas blaming each other for the lack of a deal.
The latest round of talks on Monday in Cairo to restore the cease-fire and free Israeli hostages ended with no apparent breakthrough, Palestinian and Egyptian sources said.
The war began with the Oct. 7, 2023, incursion of southern Israel by Hamas, which caused around 1,200 deaths. The group took around 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in cease-fire agreements or other deals.
Israel's genocidal attacks, in comparison, have killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
The war has destroyed vast parts of Gaza and most of its food production capabilities. The war has displaced around 90% of the population, with hundreds of thousands of people living in tent camps and bombed-out buildings.
A senior Hamas official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) earlier this week that the group had received a new Israeli proposal to halt the war.
The offer includes a truce of at least 45 days in return for the release of 10 living hostages held in Gaza, the official said.
It also provides for the release of 1,231 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory, which has been under a complete blockade since March 2.
The proposal calls for a "permanent end to the war" on the condition that Palestinian factions in Gaza, including Hamas, disarm, the official said.
Hamas has consistently rejected the disarmament demand as a "red line", describing it as "non-negotiable."
On Thursday, Al-Hayya reiterated the group's position on the matter.
"The resistance and its weapons are tied to the presence of the occupation. They are a natural right for our people, and for all peoples living under occupation," he said.
Al-Hayya said that Hamas accepted a proposal by the mediators, Qatar and Egypt, to release some hostages in return for Palestinians jailed by Israel and begin talks on implementing the second phase of the cease-fire agreement that includes ending the war and Israeli forces' withdrawal from Gaza.
He accused Israel of offering a counterproposal with "impossible conditions."
