United States negotiators offered Hamas a deal under which 10 Israeli hostages would be released in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire, a Palestinian source briefed on the negotiations told Sky News Arabia on Thursday.

"Washington asked Hamas to release ten hostages out of 25 living hostages in exchange for extending the ceasefire for sixty days and starting negotiations on the second phase and the position of the Israeli forces along the Philadelphi Corridor," and unblocking the entrance of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the source revealed. However, Hamas still has not decided on the proposal, according to the source.

The day before, the White House confirmed that the US and Hamas had started direct negotiations for the first time since 1997 when the US designated the Palestinian group a terrorist organization.