A senior Hamas official said the group is currently reviewing a revised proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, which it received from mediators, coinciding with US President Donald Trump's announcement that Israel had agreed to a 60-day truce.
Trump said early Tuesday that Israel had “agreed to the necessary conditions” for a ceasefire. Two unnamed US administration officials told CNN that Hamas must still approve the deal.
Speaking to Al Manassa, the Hamas official said the new proposal includes “minor amendments” to a previous plan presented by US Middle East envoy Steve Wietkoff. Hamas had previously expressed conditional acceptance of that plan, pending modifications.
The source added that the latest version lacks explicit provisions for ending the war and only offers general commitments, prompting internal reservations within Hamas—particularly due to the absence of “serious guarantees preventing Israel from using the truce to prepare for another offensive or target the movement’s leaders.”
A second Hamas official described internal debates over the proposal, warning of “serious concerns” that the temporary truce may be “an intelligence trap” aimed at tracking leadership movements or collecting information during talks between Hamas’s internal and external branches.
Cairo and Doha behind revised proposal
A source familiar with the mediation efforts said the amended proposal followed intensive consultations led by Egypt and Qatar. It includes a “US guarantee” that the ceasefire will remain in place for the full 60 days and that Israel will not renege—even if political conditions shift for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The source added that US officials believe Netanyahu is now more open to a truce after his recent political and public standing was bolstered by Israeli strikes on Iran. Some assessments suggest Netanyahu could win early elections if he dissolves his current coalition.
The source also noted “US promises” to delay any court ruling in Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, possibly improving his chances of re-election.
Gradual exchange of detainees and remains
According to the proposal, Hamas would release half of the living Israeli captives and half of the bodies it holds. The group would hand over 8 captives on the first day, two more on the fiftieth day, and conclude the exchange with half the bodies on the sixtieth day.
The Palestinian resistance currently holds around 50 Israelis, including 20 alive and 30 bodies. The Israeli military retrieved four bodies in special operations in late June.
Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States are continuing efforts to finalize a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal, after Israel withdrew from the second phase of a truce agreed in January and resumed its Gaza offensive on March 18.
