Hamas has reportedly informed mediators that it is willing to accept any proposal for the release of Israeli hostages, provided it includes a resumption of the ceasefire, according to a report by UK-based Qatari news organization Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Thursday.

The report suggests that Hamas did not outright reject U.S. Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff’s ceasefire-hostage framework, as some had speculated, but instead conditioned its acceptance on an agreement to halt Israeli military operations. However, Witkoff reportedly declined the condition, a move that caught Hamas by surprise, according to the report.

Meanwhile, Egyptian sources cited by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said an Israeli delegation visited Cairo on Wednesday evening for a few hours, with a Hamas delegation expected to arrive later on Thursday to continue discussions. Egyptian officials have been pushing both sides toward an agreement and reportedly presented a new ceasefire proposal on Tuesday. The proposal included the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, along with the bodies of five hostages, and embraced Witkoff’s framework, which called for the release of half the remaining hostages over the coming weeks.

According to KAN News, Egypt has been working intensively to persuade Hamas to agree to the U.S.-backed framework, which aims to secure the release of a number of Israeli hostages while preventing further military escalation. However, sources involved in discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s team say that Hamas has not changed its position on negotiations with Israel, even after the renewed military escalation.

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