Hamas has turned down an Israeli offer for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip under which the terror group would have been required to disarm, according to a Tuesday report.

According to the BBC, Israel is demanding the release of half of the remaining living hostages in exchange for a six-week truce and Hamas’s disarmament.

“The Israeli proposal relayed to the movement through Egypt explicitly called for the disarmament of Hamas without any Israeli commitment to end the war or withdraw from Gaza. Hamas therefore rejected the offer in its entirety,” an official in the terror group was quoted as saying.

Israel has repeatedly demanded that Hamas relinquish civilian and security control of Gaza, while the terror group insists that any ceasefire deal must end the war and achieve a full Israeli pull-out from the enclave.

Hamas has long rejected talk of disarmament, though its officials have expressed willingness to give up control of the Strip to a transitional body of independent technocrats, such as the one envisioned in the Egyptian plan for the post-war reconstruction of Gaza that was unveiled last month.

Responding to recent reports of progress in ceasefire talks, an official from one of the Arab mediating countries told The Times of Israel on Monday that no breakthrough was currently on the horizon and that “the same elements that have prevented a deal until now are still in place.”

“Hamas is not going to agree to a complete surrender, but that is still what Israel is demanding,” the Arab official said, echoing an earlier statement from senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri.

“Handing over the resistance’s weapons is a million red lines and is not subject to consideration, let alone discussion,” Abu Zuhri said.

However, he insisted that Hamas is “ready to hand over the hostages in one batch” in exchange for the end of the war and the withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza, confirming what a senior Hamas official told The Times of Israel earlier this month.

Israel and Hamas signed onto a phased ceasefire deal in January that fell apart after its first stage. Hamas wanted to transition to the second phase as stipulated in the agreement, but........

© The Times of Israel