Hamas told Arab mediators last week that he was ready to enter a long -term truce with Israel during which he would stop all military operations, including the development of weapons and the excavation of tunnels, two familiar officials with the case told the Times of Israel on Sunday.
The truce would be part of a complete affair that the terrorist group is looking for in order to end the Gaza War launched by its October 7, 2023, said a senior Palestinian official and a diplomat from a country of Arab mediation.
Hamas is also willing to yield the control governing Gaza to an independent body of Palestinian technocrats, as envisaged by an Egyptian proposal for the post-war administration of the band, officials said.
To impose the cessation of military activities against Israel, some officials of Hamas indicated the desire to have all the weapons of the group placed in a guarded warehouse, according to the Arab diplomat.
As for the duration of the truce, Hamas is willing to last five, 10 or even 15 years, said the Palestinian official.
The idea goes further than Hamas has been willing to go in the past, but is always well below the complete disarmament that Israel requires, and is therefore a non-starter.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press release at the Carmelite monastery in Budape Château in Budapest, Hungary on April 3, 2025. (AP Photo / Erdos)
The complete agreement that Hamas negotiators have offered to Arab mediators would see the return of all the remaining Israeli hostages in a lot in exchange for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners, officials said.
The agreement would also see a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of the Israeli Gaza forces and the reopening of passages to allow the entry of humanitarian aid and the beginning of reconstruction.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his opposition to such an agreement on Saturday evening, claiming that Israel would not accept to end the war and withdraw from Gaza, even if it meant secured the release of all the 59 remaining hostages, as this would leave Hamas in power in Gaza – a result it will not allow.
Some of his opponents have argued that Israel should prioritize the release of the hostages and cope with the dismantling of Hamas afterwards, but Netanyahu said on Saturday that this would not be possible because the terrorist group sought “binding” international commitments which would prevent Israel from attacking after a complete agreement is concluded.
In January, Netanyahu accepted a progressive ceasefire agreement with Hamas which actually prevented Israel from resuming war. The framework obtained the release of 33 hostages during a first phase of six weeks. Towards the start of this phase, the parties were supposed to start negotiations concerning the terms of the second phase, which envisaged a permanent cease-fire and a complete withdrawal of the Israeli Gaza forces.
Not wanting to implement these last two conditions, Israel has largely refused to hold negotiations on the second phase, seeking rather to rework the terms of the agreement in order to obtain another provisional ceasefire during which additional hostages would be released without excluding a return from FDI to fight later.
The head of Hamas, Khalil al-Hayya, gives a television speech rejecting Israel’s offer from a temporary exit agreement of Truce and Hostage, April 17, 2025. (Screenshot / x)
Although the Trump administration supported this effort, Hamas rejected all these proposals, which led Israel to resume intensive military operations throughout Gaza on March 18.
More than 1,500 Palestinians have since been killed since, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health managed by Hamas, whose figures have not been verified and do not make the difference between civilians and combatants.
Hamas has since moved away from the total rejection of the idea of another provisional ceasefire, but always seeks guarantees of the mediators that Israel will hold negotiations on the terms of a permanent ceasefire, according to which Jerusalem has not yet accepted, said the Palestinian official and the Arab diplomat.
Consequently, the talks remained at a dead end.
