TalksIn negotiations aimed at securing a truce and hostage deal, Hamas has put forward a new proposal for a six-week ceasefire and the exchange of about 42 Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, an official from the Islamist group told AFP.Palestinian militants seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages during the Hamas attack which triggered the war on October 7. Dozens of captives were released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes about 130 remain in Gaza, including 32 presumed dead.The Hamas attack resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has carried out relentless bombardment and a ground invasion that has killed at least 31,553 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry.Until Friday Hamas had insisted no further hostages would be exchanged without a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.Now the militants are saying that, during a six-week truce, Israeli forces would need to pull out of “all cities and populated areas” in Gaza, according to the Hamas official.The Hamas proposal also calls for ramped up humanitarian aid, the official added.Israel has so far rejected withdrawing troops from Gaza, saying such a move would amount to victory for Hamas.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel would send a delegation to Qatar for another round of talks on securing the hostages’ release.Israel did not attend earlier negotiations in Cairo which failed to secure a truce for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan which began last Monday.
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