Hamas says it is prepared to release all hostages in exchange for end of war

Group is ready to engage in 'comprehensive package' talks, says chief negotiator Khalil Al Hayya

Mourners gather around the body of a Palestinian killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza. Reuters

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Hamas said early on Friday that it is ready to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for an end to the war.

Hamas's chief negotiator, Khalil Al Hayya, added that the group would no longer agree to interim deals, a stance that Israel is unlikely to accept.

Hamas is ready to engage in "comprehensive package negotiations" to release all remaining hostages in return for an end to the Gaza war, the release of Palestinians jailed by Israel and the reconstruction of Gaza, Mr Al Hayya said in a televised speech.

"The partial agreements are being used by [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his government as a cover for their political agenda, which is based on continuing the war of extermination and starvation – even if the price is sacrificing all of their captives. We will not be part of enabling this policy," he added.

Israel is pressing for the release of 10 living hostages held by Hamas, which wants 1,231 Palestinian detainees to be freed from Israeli jails and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The enclave has been under complete blockade since early March.

Israel had proposed that Hamas disarm to secure a complete end to the war, a demand the group rejects.

A previous ceasefire and hostage release deal began on January 19 but collapsed two months later. Israel offered to extend the first phase, while Hamas insisted that negotiations be held for a second phase, as outlined by Joe Biden when he was US president.

Israel resumed intensive bombing of Gaza on March 18.

Hamas official Khalil Al Hayya attends a press conference in Beirut. Reuters

The UN said 500,000 Palestinians have been displaced since the offensive resumed, causing what it has described as the most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began with Hamas's attack on Israel in October 7, 2023.

In the background, Egyptian mediators have been working to revive the January ceasefire agreement that halted fighting in Gaza. However, little progress has been made.

The latest round of talks on Monday in Cairo to restore the ceasefire and free Israeli hostages ended with no apparent breakthrough.

Gaza's Health Ministry said on Sunday that at least 1,613 Palestinians had been killed since March 18, when the ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to more than 51,000. The war has also laid waste to most built-up areas in the enclave.