Hamas told Egyptian and Qatari mediators that it had accepted their Gaza ceasefire proposal, Al Jazeera reported on Monday, citing a leading Hamas official.
Israel’s Channel 12 is reporting that the Israeli negotiating team has Hamas’s response from mediators, is studying it, and will issue an official response.
Video footage obtained by Al Jazeera shows displaced Palestinians living in tents at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah celebrating Hamas’ss announcement.
“We are living with great joy, and we thank Qatar, Egypt, and everyone who stood with us to stop the war,” Abeer Salibi told Al Jazeera.
“It is an indescribable feeling … and we hope that any truce will continue.”
Maha al-Sarsak, a displaced woman from the Shujayea neighbourhood in Gaza, said she had been displaced for seven months.
“We hope the ceasefire efforts will continue until we return to our homes,” she said.
Sources have told Al Jazeera that the Egyptian-Qatari proposal Hamas has agreed to would include three phases, with each lasting 42 days.
A truce would begin in the first phase, along with an Israeli withdrawal from the Netzarim corridor that Israel uses to divide northern and southern Gaza.
A second phase would include the approval of a permanent cessation of military and hostile operations, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The proposal also includes a provision approving an end to the blockade of Gaza in the third phase.
