Officials in the Palestinian Hamas movement told Al-Sharq TV on Saturday that the movement is showing flexibility towards the new Qatari mediation ideas regarding the exchange of prisoners and a temporary cessation of the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip, in an effort to reach a permanent ceasefire, explaining that it is based on stages of prisoner exchange. and detainees, during which a renewed ceasefire will take place.

The Qatari proposals, based on the Egyptian initiative, stipulate a first phase of the prisoner exchange that includes the release of 40 Israeli detainees, including the elderly, the sick, women and minors, in exchange for the release of 120 Palestinian prisoners of similar categories, in addition to a ceasefire for a period of about a month.

According to officials, after this stage, an exchange of the remaining Israeli prisoners and detainees will take place in exchange for agreed-upon numbers of Palestinian prisoners, accompanied by a ceasefire.

The officials said that the Qatari proposals were derived from the Egyptian initiative.

One of the officials indicated that "the movement is preparing to submit an official written response to the Egyptian initiative that includes the movement's demands."

An informed source reported to Al-Sharq on Thursday that a high-level delegation from the Hamas political bureau will head to Cairo on Friday to inform officials in Egypt of the response of the movement and the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip to the Egyptian initiative to stop the war.

Hamas was demanding that the prisoner exchange be linked to a complete and comprehensive cessation of the war on Gaza, which Israel rejected.

Gradual cessation of war

Those close to Hamas believe that the movement is aware that Israel is preparing to withdraw from the heart of the Gaza Strip within a period ranging between 2-4 weeks, but it will continue the war in other ways, including direct bombing against the movement’s targets for a long time to come.

The new flexibility in the Palestinian movement’s position is due to its endeavor to achieve a gradual cessation of the war, as a Hamas official said, “It is clear that Israel has begun to prepare to withdraw from the Gaza Strip to its outskirts to continue bombing selected targets, and the movement will respond to that by bombing the targets.” The Israeli military forces on the borders, and in the areas that Israel considers buffer until it withdraws completely and stops the war.”

He added: "Israel failed to achieve its goals of eliminating the military apparatus of Hamas, returning the detainees by force, and ending the movement's rule in the Gaza Strip. It began to work on searching for a major goal with the aim of creating an image of victory," continuing: "We will continue to confront and respond until the occupation army is expelled." Completely stop the war.”

A person close to Hamas pointed out that “the movement tried to force Israel to stop the war by using the detainees card, but it became clear to it that Tel Aviv is ready to sacrifice them in exchange for continuing the war, which many Israeli leaders, led by (Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu, see as opportunity to remain in their positions.

Hamas demands the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons in exchange for all Israeli prisoners and detainees, which Israel strongly rejects. Those close to Hamas expect that compromise solutions will be reached in this regard.

Egyptian Initiative

The Egyptian initiative in its new form, the details of which Al-Sharq revealed, includes a 10-day humanitarian deal, during which Hamas will release all of its detained civilians, including women, children, and elderly patients, in exchange for Israel releasing an appropriate, agreed-upon number of its Palestinian prisoners.

The second phase includes the release of all female soldiers detained by Hamas in exchange for a number agreed upon by both sides of Palestinian prisoners held inside Israeli prisons, and the handover of all bodies held by both sides since the start of the war on October 7.

During the third and final stage, negotiations will take place for a month regarding Hamas’s release of all its Israeli recruits in exchange for Israel’s release of a number of Palestinian prisoners agreed upon between the two sides inside Israeli prisons.

The war broke out on October 7, when Hamas launched an attack on Israeli towns and villages, during which 1,200 people were killed. Tel Aviv responded with a war on the Gaza Strip that resulted in more than 21,000 casualties, most of them women and children, according to Palestinian health officials.