Cairo: Hamas said it accepted a new deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas told the mediators on Saturday that it had accepted the proposals it received two days ago. "We received the ceasefire proposals two days ago through the mediators in Qatar and Egypt, examined them, made a positive decision and accepted them," Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised speech.
The news agency Reuters reported that Israel had responded positively to the new ceasefire deal, citing military sources. Meanwhile, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office did not respond to inquiries by the news agency regarding this. The Hamas leader said he hoped that Israel would not sabotage the deal. The main clause of the ceasefire deal is that Hamas will release five more hostages captured by Israel. The report says that one person will be released each week.