Hamas has apparently accepted the terms of a ceasefire deal similar to one that was proposed last month but never put in place. The deal would free some remaining hostages in exchange for more than 200 Palestinian prisoners.
In a statement, Hamas said it had accepted the new proposal presented on Sunday by Qatar and Egypt.
Basem Naim, a senior member of Hamas’ political bureau, said on social media, “The movement has accepted the new proposal from the mediators. We pray that God extinguishes the fires of this war on our people.”
Two Israeli officials told CNN that Israel had received the Hamas response from mediators. One of the Israeli officials said that the government’s position had not changed, which includes calling for the release of all the hostages, the disarming of Hamas, and Israeli security control of the besieged territory…
A senior Hamas official told CNN the proposal calls for the release of 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages. The hostages will be released in exchange for 140 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 60 serving sentences of more than 15 years. Israel will also release all Palestinian minors and female prisoners, the official said.
There are an estimated 50 remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, with only 20 of them believed to be alive. So Hamas is essentially offering half of the remaining hostages in exchange for hundreds of convicts. This is apparently very similar to an agreement Israel had accepted last month.
The latest terms are similar to those that Israel had previously accepted and they include both a temporary cease-fire and a path to an agreement to end the war, according to the two diplomats and the Egyptian official…
Israel has agreed in the past to the release of half of the hostages believed to be alive in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners as part of an initial cease-fire, and to the release of the remaining hostages as part of a comprehensive follow-up deal.
However, that deal never happened and now Israel has said it’s not interested any longer in a deal that doesn’t free all of the hostages.
“I think that is behind us,” he told the Hebrew-language channel of i24 News.
Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration’s special envoy to the Middle East, told families of Israeli hostages this month at a meeting that President Trump now wanted to see all the living hostages released at once.
“No piecemeal deals, that doesn’t work,” Mr. Witkoff said, according to an audio recording of part of the meeting published by the Ynet Hebrew news site.
It’s pretty clear why Hamas is suddenly interested in this deal. Netanyahu has made it clear he intends to take over Gaza City unless Hamas surrenders and disarms.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Israelis Saturday night that he only plans to halt the takeover of Gaza City if Hamas agrees to all of the Jewish state’s demands for ending the war — after the terror group reportedly signaled it was open to a partial cease-fire for the first time.
“We will agree to a deal on the condition that all the hostages are released in a single phase and in accordance with our terms for ending the war,” read the statement from Netanyahu’s office.
Those terms include the disarming of Hamas soldiers, the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, Israeli control of the Gaza perimeter, and the installation of non-Hamas and non-Palestinian Authority governance that will live in peace with the Jewish state, according to the prime minister.
This morning, President Trump posted something on Truth Social indicating he supported the eradication of Hamas.
Trump: We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! pic.twitter.com/rW8EQSbH1b
— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) August 18, 2025
So faced with another fight it can’t win and the possibility of an actual surrender, Hamas is suddenly begging for Israel to accept half a loaf, i.e. half the hostages, no surrender and no disarmament by Hamas. That’s not an attempt to find peace, it’s a desperate plea for survival by a terrorist group in danger of losing everything. “Like you, I hear the reports in the media, and from them, you can get the impression of one thing — that Hamas is under immense pressure,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu: “Like you, I hear the reports in the media, and from them you can get one impression – Hamas is under “atomic pressure” (= very heavy pressure). pic.twitter.com/ePcaHvBZR3
— הרדאר The Radar (@haradar10) August 18, 2025
