Israel rejects proposal for five-year truce with Hamas: State media

Jerusalem, April 28 (IANS) Israel has rejected a proposal for a five-year ceasefire with Hamas, under which all Israeli hostages still held in Gaza would have been released, Israel's state-owned broadcaster Kan reported Monday.

A senior Israeli official told local media that Israel "has officially rejected the proposal," according to Kan.

"Some ideas are being floated by certain Arab states, such as a five-year halt to the war," the official said. "There is no chance we will agree to a 'hudna' (a temporary truce) with Hamas that would only allow it to rearm, recover, and continue its war against the State of Israel with even greater force," Xinhua news agency reported.

On Saturday, a Hamas delegation led by senior leader Khalil al-Hayya agreed in Cairo to release all Israeli hostages in exchange for a five-year truce, according to an Egyptian security source.

The last exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees took place under a ceasefire that came into effect in January. Israel ended the ceasefire in March after about two months and resumed its deadly offensive in the Palestinian enclave.

The renewed Israeli attacks have so far killed 2,222 Palestinians and injured 5,751 others, Gaza health authorities said Monday, adding the death toll in the enclave since the war began in October 2023 has risen to 52,314, with 117,792 injured.

According to Israeli authorities, 59 hostages remain in Gaza, including 58 of the 251 taken by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel. The Israeli military has confirmed that at least 35 hostages of those still held are believed to be dead.

--IANS

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