The media said Hamas would agree to a phased ceasefire with Israel

The Palestinian Hamas movement will agree to a full cease-fire deal with Israel “in stages,” Xinhua reported.

An official Hamas source told Xinhua on Saturday that the movement would agree to a full ceasefire deal with Israel “in stages”.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that Israel gave the Palestinian Hamas movement a week to accept a ceasefire proposal in the Gaza Strip, otherwise it threatened to launch a military operation in Rafah.

CNN, citing sources, published some details of a new proposal to Hamas drawn up by Egyptian mediators.

According to him, the new proposal has been prepared with the help of Israel. The first phase of the agreement includes the release of 20–33 hostages.

The release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel over several weeks in exchange for a pause in fighting. The duration of the ceasefire will depend on how many hostages can be released.

The second phase involves “restoring lasting peace” in the Gaza Strip. According to a diplomatic source, the term means “a way of negotiating a permanent ceasefire without saying so.”

During this phase, the remaining Hamas hostages and bodies of the dead, including captured IDF soldiers, will be exchanged for even more Palestinian prisoners.