News- Middle East: Hamas has reportedly accepted a proposed ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal with Israel, even as US President Donald Trump declared that Israel’s captives will be freed only after Hamas is “destroyed,” backing the regime's ongoing plans to occupy Gaza City.

An official Egyptian source, representing one of the mediators in the negotiations, confirmed that Hamas has agreed to the latest proposal: a 60-day ceasefire that would include the return of half of the captives held in Gaza in exchange for Israel releasing a number of Palestinian prisoners.

The proposed deal follows negotiations between Hamas, Egyptian and Qatari officials that have been taking place in Cairo in recent days.

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim confirmed the news, saying in a Facebook post that "The movement has handed over its approval to the new proposal presented by the mediators."

According to the Egyptian source, the latest proposal also includes a path to a comprehensive deal that ends the nearly two-year genocidal war in Gaza.

The latest proposal was expected to be presented to Israel on Monday, although Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel is no longer interested in part deals.

It was reported that the proposal is nearly identical to the one that was put forward by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and was accepted by Israel.

The latest development comes in the wake of Trump's declaration that, “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform earlier on Monday, referring to the Israeli captives.

“Remember, I was the one who negotiated and got hundreds of hostages freed and released into Israel (and America!),” Trump stated.

The US President inflated the numbers, as only 30 captives were released in a previous exchange deal.

Trump’s remarks marked open support for Israel’s plan to occupy the Gaza City, despite widespread concern among Israelis about the fate of the captives and the threat posed to them by the upcoming Israeli assault on Gaza.

On Sunday, Israelis staged a large-scale protest in Tel Aviv, demanding the return of the captives through a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal.

The protesters slammed Netanyahu for seeking to prolong the war for personal gain.

Dani Miran, whose son Omri has been held in Gaza since October 2023, said he feared the consequences of the Israeli ground offensive in Gaza City.

"I'm scared that my son would be hurt," he told Reuters in Tel Aviv on Monday.

Earlier this month, Israel’s so-called “political-security cabinet” approved a plan to occupy Gaza City after Netanyahu announced the regime’s intention to occupy the entire besieged strip.

Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir had warned against the takeover of Gaza, saying the plan poses a serious danger to the captives still held by the Palestinian resistance in the strip.

Last month, Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya strongly condemned Israel and the United States for withdrawing from negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire in Gaza despite “clear progress” that had been made in the talks.

Al-Hayya said the US and Israel were “wasting time” to intentionally hinder talks and facilitate the continued extermination of Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian resistance fighters carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the Zionist entity in response to the regime's decades-long campaign of death and destruction against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has killed more than 62,000 Palestinians and injured 156,230 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.

Since March 2, when it violated its ceasefire agreement with Hamas, the Israeli regime has sealed all border crossings, blocking the entry of humanitarian aid and further deepening Gaza’s already dire humanitarian crisis.

Source: Press TV