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Palestinian militant group Hamas has softened its conditions for accepting a ceasefire to stop the nine-month-old Gaza war, presenting new ideas to mediators in Egypt and Qatar, sources said on Thursday.
The sources told The National that Hamas's new positions include abandoning its demand for an Israeli commitment in writing to a permanent ceasefire at the end of the initial 45-day phase of the plan.
Now, said the sources, Hamas will accept international guarantees that talks on a permanent ceasefire, or a “sustained calm”, would commence at the start of the first phase and conclude before its end.
Hamas has also stated its willingness to accept a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, dropping its previous demand that the pullout must be completed by the end of the first phase, according to the sources.
They said Hamas remains adamant that everyone on its list of Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in Israel who it wants to exchange for the hostages is allowed to walk free.
However, said the sources, Hamas was now open to their release over the plan's three phases.
The group's release of the hostages will be contingent on the progress of the talks on a permanent ceasefire and Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, said the sources.
According to Hamas, its political leader Ismail Haniyeh has “made contact about the ideas that the movement is discussing with them (Egyptian and Qatari mediators) with the aim of reaching an agreement”.
Talks were also held with Hamas leaders in Turkey, it added, saying the group is dealing “in a positive spirit with the content of the continuing deliberations.” It gave no further details.
Israel on Wednesday received Hamas's response to amended proposals first announced by President Joe Biden on May 31 for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of about 120 hostages held in the coastal enclave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been insisting that he would not agree to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, saying he preferred temporary truces to allow the release of the hostages. He has also rejected the idea of a full withdrawal from Gaza, repeatedly declaring that he would not stop the war there until Hamas is eradicated.
Mr Netanyahu convened his security cabinet on Thursday evening to discuss the new Hamas positions.
In a phone call with US President Joe Biden, he informed him on his decision to send a delegation to continue the hostage negotiations with Hamas.
He reiterated the principles that Israel is committed to, especially its commitment to end the war only after all of its goals have been achieved, his office said.
Mediators from the US and its Arab allies Egypt and Qatar have been trying for months without success to broker a Gaza ceasefire. The only truce in the war, also brokered by these mediators, lasted a week and ended on December 1 after it saw the release of about 100 hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
The Gaza war was caused when Hamas attacked southern Israel last October, killing about 1,200 people and taking another 240 hostage. Israel responded with a relentless military campaign that has to date killed more than 38,000 Palestinians, wounded twice this many and displaced 80 per cent of the territory's 2.3 million residents.
The war has also reduced to rubble most of the territory's built-up areas and created a humanitarian crisis, with many now in the tiny but densely populated strip facing hunger while famine looms over its north.
The latest movement in the search for a Gaza ceasefire comes at a time when domestic opposition to Mr Netanyahu has grown over his perceived failure to agree to a ceasefire, with thousands of Israelis rallying weekly in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities to call for a deal.
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, appears to be also coming popular pressure to accept a deal.
Earlier this week, a post on social media went viral among Palestinians in Gaza, urging Hamas to agree to any deal to end the war.
The post, referencing the tens of thousands of bereaved Gazans, called on the group to end “the suffering, humiliation, and oppression that we have endured for the past nine months.”
In a thinly veiled criticism of Hamas's leaders, the post appealed to “the esteemed leaders who appear on our screens, dressed in the finest clothes, wearing expensive watches, with neatly styled hair, sitting in luxurious chairs, we urge you to respond immediately, to preserve what remains of the nation's dignity.
“We are exhausted, we are drained, we are sick, and we are humiliated.”
Umm Mohammed Mousa from northern Gaza said she fully supported the message in the viral post.
“Life has become unbearable. The war must end immediately, in any way and without any restrictions, because the people can no longer endure it. Life must return to how it was before the war,” she told The National.
Correspondent Nagham Mohanna contributed to this report.
