Top official: Hamas agrees to free all Israeli captives for ‘serious prisoner swap’

A high-ranking Hamas official says the Palestinian resistance movement is willing to set free all Israeli captives remaining in the besieged Gaza Strip in exchange for what he described as a “serious prisoner swap” and a guaranteed end to the ongoing genocidal war.

“We are ready to release all Israeli captives in exchange for a serious prisoner swap deal, an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the entry of humanitarian aid,” AFP news agency quoted Taher al-Nunu as saying on Monday.

Hamas is currently engaged in negotiations in Cairo with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, and is reportedly dealing with the talks in a “positive and responsible” manner.

Nunu, however, lambasted Israel for hindering the progress towards a ceasefire.

“The issue is not the number of captives, but rather that the occupation is reneging on its commitments, blocking the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and continuing the war,” the senior Hamas official said.

“Hamas has therefore stressed the need for guarantees to compel the occupation (Israel) to uphold the agreement,” he added.

There are reports that Washington would exert pressure on the Tel Aviv regime to agree on a new proposal to the Gaza truce.

Under the deal, Hamas would release 10 living captives in exchange for US guarantees that Israel would enter negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire.

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Hamas leader details new Gaza ceasefire proposal, group’s stance

Meanwhile, a Hamas leader has outlined the key points of the latest Israeli proposal, which includes the redeployment of Israeli occupation forces to positions held before March 2, a 45-day lull in military offensives, the reopening of border crossings, and the entry of humanitarian aid — but all under Israeli-imposed conditions. 

He underlined that the proposal, however, fails to meet his group’s pressing demands of a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

The leader further warned that the plan appears designed to gradually strip Hamas of its leverage by repatriating captives without securing meaningful concessions.

He stated that the Israeli proposal seeks to disarm Hamas and ensure it does not return to power in Gaza. 

Hamas has emphasized that it is “approaching any proposals positively if they guarantee a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, an end to the suffering of our Palestinian people, and a serious prisoner exchange deal.”

The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing hundreds of people, injuring many others, and shattering the ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas and the deal on the exchange of Israeli captives from Palestinian prisoners.

According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, at least 50,983 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 116,274 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023.

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