Hamas on Friday said it was ready to start talks "immediately" on a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the civil defence agency said Israel's ongoing offensive killed more than 50 people.
The announcement came after it held consultations with other Palestinian factions and before a visit on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, where President Donald Trump is pushing for an end to the war, now in its 21st month.
"The movement is ready to engage immediately and seriously in a cycle of negotiations on the mechanism to put in place" the terms of a draft US-backed truce proposal received from mediators, the militant group said in a statement. '
A Hamas ally said it supported ceasefire talks, but demanded "guarantees" that Israel will not resume its aggression once hostages held in Gaza are freed. Trump, when asked about Hamas' response aboard Air Force One on Friday, said: "That's good. They haven't briefed me on it. We have to get it over with. We have to do something about Gaza."
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