Hamas says it is discussing 'proposals' for a truce agreement with Israel in Gaza after Trump's call

The Islamist group Hamas said Wednesday it was analyzing proposals for a ceasefire with Israel in Gaza conveyed by mediators, after U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel supported a 60-day truce in the Palestinian territory.

Meanwhile, the movement warned that its demands remain the end of the Israeli offensive against the enclave , the withdrawal of its troops, and the provision of aid to the Gazans.

On Wednesday, a source from the Islamist group in Cairo told Efe that there is "a strong possibility" of an agreement, although disagreements remain.

The nearly 21 months of war have created a dire humanitarian situation for more than two million people in Gaza, where Israel has recently expanded its military operations.

The statements come after Trump announced that Israel had accepted a 60-day ceasefire proposal and that mediators would present the Islamists with this "final proposal."

A 60-day truce is the basic principle of the proposal by White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which Israel has supported from the outset.

US media also adds that the current proposal on the table calls for the release of 10 live hostages held by Hamas and the bodies of 14 others.

A total of 50 hostages remain in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be still alive.

Hamas, for its part, advocates for a truce agreement that would definitively end hostilities, especially after Israel broke the last ceasefire on March 18.

On January 19, the second truce agreed between Hamas and Israel came into effect (the first was in November 2023 and lasted just a week).

From that day until March 1, the supposedly first phase of the agreement was extended, during which the parties were to negotiate a second phase that would include the definitive end of the war, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the release of hostages not freed during the first phase.

However, negotiations on the second phase never made progress , and the first phase ended without any progress toward the second, leaving the Gaza Strip in a stalemate until Israel resumed bombing the enclave on March 18, killing hundreds of people in a matter of hours.

For the Netanyahu government, ending the war must entail the removal of Hamas from power and the dismantling of its military wing, while the Palestinian group demands the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave.

Another objective of the Israeli offensive, to ensure the return of populations bordering Gaza since the Strip no longer poses a threat, has been practically achieved, as this week both the government, the army, and local authorities allowed the return of their residents to these agricultural communities (kibbutzim).

This Wednesday, the number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli offensive on Gaza exceeded 57,000 since October 7, 2023, the day Gazan militants led by Hamas entered Israel to kill some 1,200 people and kidnap another 251.