A senior Hamas official in Lebanon said Saturday that his movement is open to talks to end Israel’s “offensive” on the Gaza Strip, adding that it is still premature to talk of an agreement to declare a new truce.

A draft agreement for a second truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement, drawn up by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the US, mainly provides for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons stores.

“Hamas reiterated that it is ready to discuss any initiative (…) that will end the barbaric attack against our people in the Gaza Strip,” Osama Hamdan said during a press conference in Beirut.

He confirmed that the Islamic Resistance Movement had received the proposal to declare a truce, adding that important details were missing. This “proposal is a framework agreement that needs to be studied (…) There can be no talk of an agreement yet.”

After thorough consideration, “we will announce our position, which will be based (…) on our will to end the attack against our people as soon as possible,” he added.

According to an AFP source in Hamas, the first phase of the proposal calls for a six-week truce and the release of 200 to 300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages held in Gaza, while 200 will enter the enclave daily. as 300 trucks with humanitarian aid.

Mr. Hamdan also referred to the decision of more than a dozen countries to proceed with the suspension of funding of the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), due to the war following Israel’s accusations of the participation of its workers in the Hamas attack against Israel on the 7th of October.

He denounced the “irresponsible measure based on Zionist accusations” and the “collective punishment” of the Palestinians, calling on “the UNRWA administration not to submit.”

The war between Israel and Hamas was sparked by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement’s military arm in southern areas of Israeli territory on October 7, when 1,163 people, mostly civilians, were killed, according to an AFP tally based on official announcements from the authorities.

In retaliation, Israel has vowed to “wipe out” the Palestinian Islamist movement in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007, and its military operations have since killed at least 27,238 people, the vast majority of them women and children, according to the latest casualty count which was made public yesterday Saturday by the Health Ministry of Hamas.

About 250 people were abducted and taken to the Gaza Strip on October 7. More than a hundred were released when a week-long truce was implemented in late November. The 132 remain in the Palestinian enclave, however 27 are considered dead by the army.