Hamas says studying Gaza truce proposal 'in positive spirit'

PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Thursday (May 2) that the Palestinian militant group was studying a proposal for a truce in the nearly seven-month war raging in Gaza with a "positive spirit".

In a call to Egypt's intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, Haniyeh said he "appreciated the role played by Egypt", which along with Qatar and the United States is mediating the talks, and "stressed the positive spirit of the movement in studying the ceasefire proposal", according to a statement on Hamas's official website.

The mediators have proposed a truce deal that would halt fighting for 40 days and exchange dozens of hostages for many more Palestinian prisoners, according to Britain.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while visiting Israel on Wednesday, urged the Palestinian militant movement to accept the truce plan.

The aim of those talks, Haniyeh said, would be "reaching an agreement that fulfils the demands of our people and stops the aggression".

Egyptian state-linked media Al-Qahera News reported Thursday that "a delegation from Hamas will arrive in Cairo within the next two days to continue truce negotiations", citing a high-level Egyptian source.

Israeli government spokeswoman Raquela Karamson meanwhile told journalists Thursday that "the only thing preventing a deal is Hamas".

"Hamas only hardens its conditions and entrenches itself in unreasonable demands," she said.

The war started with Hamas's Oct 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel estimates that 129 captives seized by militants during their attack remain in Gaza, but the military says 34 of them are dead.

"In seven months of Hamas captivity, we have never been informed as to their conditions," Karamson said.

Israel's retaliatory offensive, vowing to destroy Hamas, has killed at least 34,596 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.