Ries, March 16 -- Hamas has proposed a new six week truce in Gaza and an exchange of several dozen Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official from the militant group said on Friday.
"The agreement is for a six-week ceasefire and a prisoner exchange," the official said after weeks of so far fruitless mediation efforts, adding that the group would want this to lead to "a complete (Israeli) withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a permanent ceasefire."
During the proposed truce, Gaza militants would release about 42 hostages seized during the October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza, the official said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
The official said that between 20 and 50 Palestinian prisoners...