Palestinians gather for a mass fast-breaking iftar meal amid the rubble of destroyed buildings, and the ruins of the Salim Abu Muslim mosque (top-L) in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. AFP
Deadly Israeli airstrikes meanwhile killed nine people in Gaza, in yet another violation of the truce, which largely halted more than 15 months of genocidal war. on the Strip.
A senior Hamas official said long-delayed talks over the ceasefire's second phase would need to begin the day of the release and last no longer than 50 days. Israel also would need to stop barring the entry of humanitarian aid and withdraw from a strategic corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt.
Israel has said it won't pull out from the corridor, it had occupied in May 2024.
Hamas said Saturday that "the ball is in Israel's court" after the new offering, a Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou said.
Hamas would also demand the release of more Palestinian detainees in exchange for Israelis, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.
Edan Alexander, 21 is the last American-Israeli held in Gaza. Hamas still has 59 captives, 35 believed to be dead.
Speaking at a protest camp set up last week outside Israeli army headquarters in Tel Aviv, relatives of captives said Netanyahu was violating the agreement he signed and abandoning the captives in Gaza.
“You want to sacrifice our children for the pleasures of power,” said father of an Israel detainee.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Saturday told negotiators to prepare for the continuation of talks regarding the release of captives , his office said.
* This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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