Hamas is open to freeing all the hostages still in its custody in exchange for a permanent end to the war, according to a senior Palestinian source involved in the ceasefire negotiations who spoke with The Times of Israel.
Despite Israel’s ongoing opposition to a full cessation of hostilities under these conditions, the official says Hamas is willing to release a smaller number of captives in return for a temporary pause in the fighting.
That offer, however, comes with a key demand: Hamas wants written guarantees from mediators that Israel will agree to enter negotiations for a lasting truce after the short-term ceasefire — something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far flatly declined, the Palestinian official explains.
Hamas continues to insist on the original terms of a ceasefire framework agreed upon in January. That deal called for the second phase to begin on March 2, at which point all remaining hostages would be freed in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire. Although Netanyahu initially signed onto that framework, he has since rejected the critical second-phase clauses, arguing that they would leave Hamas intact and in power. As a result, Israel has refused to move forward with phase two, which was supposed to begin on February 2. On March 18, Israel resumed full-scale combat operations in Gaza.
For months, Hamas refused to consider extending the initial ceasefire. But according to the senior official, it has recently submitted a new offer to that effect.
He says the latest proposal closely mirrors an earlier one floated by U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and includes the release of five Israeli captives.
However, it also conditions the deal on guarantees from international mediators that Israel would then move on to negotiations over a permanent truce as laid out in phase two.
Israel rejected that plan and countered with a different proposal: it seeks the release of 11 hostages but provides no promise of future ceasefire discussions. The Palestinian official says this revised Israeli offer is not acceptable to Hamas. “The talks are now at a standstill.”
“The number of hostages is not the issue. If Israel demonstrates its intention to reach a permanent ceasefire, [Hamas is] prepared to release all of the hostages,” the Palestinian official says. “Israel only wants a partial agreement so that it can continue fighting. It wants [Hamas] to give up all the hostages without entering the second phase.”
While Hamas remains unwilling to lay down arms or exit Gaza entirely, the group is reportedly open to relinquishing day-to-day governance of the Strip to an independent group of Palestinian technocrats, provided a long-term ceasefire with Israel includes agreed-upon security measures.
Hamas “will never disarm” before a Palestinian state has been created “because [it is] a resistance movement,” the official says.
He also criticized what he described as inconsistent behavior from the Trump administration throughout the hostage negotiation process. He pointed to the brief involvement of U.S. hostage envoy Adam Boehler, who had begun direct talks with Hamas earlier this year — only for those efforts to be abruptly cut off following objections from Israel.
“How can you reach an agreement without speaking directly to [Hamas]? They were willing to do this with the Taliban,” the senior Palestinian official notes.
The senior Palestinian official concluded by stating that only U.S. President Donald Trump has the power to stop the war — but accused him of enabling continued destruction instead. He claims Trump has chosen to “give Netanyahu a green light to open the gates of hell on Gaza.”
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