Hamas is willing to release all hostages if Israel promises to end the war

Senior Hamas officials say they are willing to exchange all Israeli hostages in exchange for a "serious prisoner exchange agreement" in exchange for an Israeli commitment to end the war in Gaza.

"We are ready to release all the Israeli hostages if the war ends, the Israeli army withdraws from Gaza and humanitarian aid is allowed in," senior Hamas member Taher al-Nunu said Monday, AFP reported.

But he accused Israel of blocking progress toward a cease-fire.

"The problem is not the number of hostages, but the fact that the occupation (Israel) is breaking its commitments, obstructing the implementation of the ceasefire and continuing the war," Nunu said.

"Hamas stresses that there must be a guarantee mechanism to ensure that Israel will abide by the agreement," he added.

At the same time, Nunu noted that Hamas will not disarm. This is the key condition Israel has set for ending the war.

Israeli news site Ynet reported Monday that a new proposal had been presented to Hamas.

Under the deal, Hamas would release 10 hostages in exchange for U.S. guarantees that Israel would participate in a second phase of cease-fire talks.

Hamas is negotiating in Cairo with mediators from Egypt and Qatar, which are working with the United States to broker a cease-fire in Gaza.

In January, in the first phase of a two-month ceasefire brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, Hamas released 25 hostages and eight bodies. According to Israeli sources, Hamas still holds 58 hostages, including 34 who have been killed.

Israel resumed its air and ground attacks on Gaza after the first phase of the Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire ended on March 18 and the second phase of negotiations stalled.