A Palestinian official has said that Hamas has agreed to a new ceasefire proposal put forward by the United States. The deal would help stop the ongoing violence in Gaza for a limited time.

The U.S. plan was shared with Hamas through mediators and suggests a 70-day pause in the fighting. In exchange, Hamas would release ten Israeli hostages.

According to the official, the hostages would be freed in two stages. As part of the deal, Israel would also partly withdraw its forces from Gaza during the truce period.

In addition, Israel would release many Palestinian prisoners. This includes hundreds of people who are currently serving long-term prison sentences.

So far, the Israeli government has not given any official answer to this offer.

Back in January, a temporary ceasefire was in place. But on March 18, Israel ended it and began a new military campaign in Gaza.

Just two days later, Hamas and its allied groups responded by launching rockets at Israeli areas.

Hamas has stated that it is willing to release all of the remaining hostages taken during its attack on October 7, 2023. That attack killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and resulted in 251 hostages being taken, based on Israeli reports.

However, Hamas is asking for a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of a long-term truce. He says Israel will only agree to a short break in fighting to get the hostages back. Netanyahu also says the war will not end until Hamas is completely destroyed.

Since the fighting began after the October 7 attack, Gaza’s health officials say almost 54,000 Palestinians have lost their lives due to Israeli air and ground attacks.