Israel has received Hamas' response to a new ceasefire proposal in the Gaza Strip, and discussions for details are underway, Israeli media reported on Saturday.
Israeli Channel 12, citing an anonymous source, said that the reply of the Palestinian group to the ceasefire and prisoner exchange proposal was transferred to Israel via mediators.
According to Haaretz newspaper, Israel's Security Cabinet will convene at 10 pm local time (1900GMT) on Saturday to discuss the Hamas response and the future of the Gaza war.
Israeli media said that a delegation is expected to travel to the Qatari capital, Doha, for negotiations on the implementation of the ceasefire proposal, without giving a specific timeline.
Israeli Channel 12 earlier reported that the negotiations in the Qatari capital "will not take more than a day and a half."
Egypt's state-run Al-Qahera News channel, for its part, said that Cairo has begun intensive contacts with various parties to resume indirect negotiations to reach a final formula for a Gaza ceasefire.
Hamas said late Friday that it had delivered a "positive" response to mediators on the Gaza ceasefire proposal.
According to Israel's public broadcaster KAN, Hamas insists on three main demands: a return to the previous aid distribution mechanism, extending the ceasefire after the proposed 60-day period, and an actual withdrawal of the Israeli army forces from the Gaza Strip.
Reports from Israel indicate that the main challenge to the negotiations will be the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the enclave, the Israeli Hayom newspaper reported.
The newspaper said that Israel seeks to maintain a presence on the Morag Axis, which separates Rafah from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, while Hamas demands a complete withdrawal.
Yedioth Ahronoth daily, citing unnamed Israeli officials, reported that US President Donald Trump may announce a ceasefire agreement in Gaza during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Hamas did not indicate details of the proposal in the statement, but Israeli and American media reported that the main provisions include Hamas releasing half of the living Israeli hostages, 10, in addition to the bodies of 18 prisoners in five phases during a 60-day ceasefire.
According to the Haaretz newspaper, the proposal suggests the release of eight living Israeli hostages on the first day that the ceasefire takes effect, two of them on the 50th day, and eight bodies on the last day of the truce.
Israel would, in return, release a large number of Palestinian prisoners it holds and gradually withdraw forces from agreed-upon areas inside Gaza -- a point that could cause division in Tel Aviv, which demands the disarmament of the Palestinian group and the exile of its leadership abroad.
Tel Aviv estimates that there are 50 hostages, including 20 living captives, in Gaza, while more than 10,400 Palestinians are being held in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect that have led to the deaths of many, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Despite international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a genocidal war on Gaza, killing more than 57,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since October 2023.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
