Hamas has rejected Israel’s offer of an interim truce and instead demands a comprehensive deal to end the war in Gaza, swap all Israeli hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel, and rebuild the damaged territory.
The group’s Gaza chief, Khalil Al-Hayya, stated that Hamas will engage in “comprehensive package negotiations” to release its remaining hostages in exchange for an end to the conflict, the release of Palestinian prisoners, and reconstruction efforts.
Hamas has already released 38 hostages under a January ceasefire agreement but says it won’t accept partial agreements as a means to advance Israel’s agenda. Egyptian mediators have been working to revive the truce but progress has been limited due to disagreements between Israel and Hamas.
The conflict started with Hamas’ October attack on southern Israel, resulting in 1,200 deaths and 251 taken hostage. Since then, over 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to local health authorities.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-is-ready-release-all-remaining-hostages-return-an-end-gaza-war-hamas-gaza-2025-04-17