Hamas moots years-long Gaza ceasefire, rejects disarmament

Hamas is open to a years-long truce with Israel in Gaza but is not willing to lay down its arms, an official said on Saturday, as leaders of the Palestinian group met mediators in Cairo for ceasefire talks.

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A Hamas delegation was in Cairo to discuss with Egyptian mediators ways out of the 18-month war, while, on the ground, rescuers said an Israeli strike on a family home in Gaza City killed at least 10 people with more feared buried under the rubble.

Sources close to the talks told Reuters Hamas hoped to build support among mediators for its offer, adding the group might agree to a five to seven-year truce in return for ending the war, allowing for the rebuilding of Gaza, the freeing of Palestinians jailed by Israel and the one-time release of all remaining hostages.

The latest bid to seal a ceasefire follows an Israeli proposal which Hamas had rejected earlier this month as “partial,” calling instead for a “comprehensive” agreement to halt the war. The Israeli offer included a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of 10 living hostages.

Hamas has consistently demanded that a truce deal must lead to an end to the war, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a surge in humanitarian aid into the besieged territory — where on Friday the United Nations warned food stocks were running out.