In the wake of sustained Israeli military pressure on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, its supporter Iran, and its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, the terrorist group has become flexible in recent weeks in indirect negotiations with Israel mediated by Egypt and Qatar and facilitated by the United States.

As Egypt has floated a new ceasefire proposal backed by the United States, Hamas has said it would accept two Israeli demands related to military presence inside Gaza and hostages in captivity, Arab mediators told Wall Street Journal.

Following the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah brokered by US and French governments, a momentum has been built in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas. The incoming Donald Trump administration has also joined efforts helmed by the outgoing Joe Biden administration in striking a deal between the warring sides at the earliest.

Hamas to accept Israel military presence, hand over hostages’ details: Report

Arab mediators have told Wall Street Journal that Hamas has agreed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand of continued Israeli military presence inside Gaza even after a ceasefire comes into effect.

For the first time, the mediators said, the Hamas has handed over a list of hostages, including US citizens, whom it would release under a ceasefire deal.

The Hamas-led terrorists abducted 251 people during the October 7 attack. Of them, around 100 were released in a weekslong ceasefire in November last year and around eight were rescued by Israeli forces in multiple missions. Around 100 hostages remain in Gaza and around a third of them are believed to be dead.

The Journal quoted mediators as saying that Hamas has agreed to Israeli military controlling the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border and Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza that essentially divides Gaza into two halves and allows for the monitoring of displaced Palestinians returning northward from the south where they have been sheltering.

The mediators further said that Hamas has accepted to give up the control of the Egypt-Gaza border crossing at Rafah.

What’s the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal?

While the latest ceasefire proposal floated by Egypt and backed by the United States is broadly similar to the one announced by US President Biden in May, there are some differences.

For one, while the proposal announced by Biden and endorsed by Israel envisioned the end of the war in three phases, the current proposal does not necessarily end the war. Instead, it seeks a 60-day ceasefire during which hostages would be released in lieu of Palestinian prisoners.

The hope of the Arab mediators is that the long ceasefire would make it essentially impossible for Hamas to restart the full-scale war in Gaza.

Under the terms of the deal being negotiated, a ceasefire would come into place in lieu of the release of hostages. Israel would also release an unspecified number of Palestinians prisoners.

In the first phase of the deal, hostages from the humanitarian category, including women, children, sick, and elderly, would be released.

The Journal has reported that now there are hopes that the first batch of hostages could be released within days.

The newspaper reported that Israel would increase the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza once hostages are released.