The release of 10 hostages in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has been proposed by the United States to Hamas, and they are awaiting its response, a Palestinian source told Sky News Arabia.

“Washington has asked Hamas to release ten hostages in exchange for an extension of the ceasefire for sixty days, the start of negotiations on the second phase and the position of Israeli forces along the Philadelphia corridor,” as well as the resumption of humanitarian aid flow into the Gaza Strip, the source said, without specifying when the offer was made.

According to the source, “Hamas is still considering its response to the US proposal.”

Earlier, it was reported via the New York Times that Israel learned of the Washington-Hamas talks from “other channels.”

According to the Times, it was Major General (Ret.) Nijan Alon, Israel’s hostage negotiator, informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the American talks with Hamas in Doha.