Hamas armed wing ready to free 70 hostages in return for 5-day truce

FILE PHOTO: Abu Ubaida, the spokesman of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, gestures as he speaks during an anti-Israel military show in the southern Gaza Strip on November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo

CAIRO — The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas said Monday it told Qatari mediators the group was ready to release up to 70 women and children held in Gaza in return for a five-day truce with Israel.

“Last week, there was an effort from the Qatari brothers to release the enemy captives from women and children, in return for the release of 200 Palestinian children and 75 women detained by the enemy,” Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for the armed wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades, said in an audio recording posted on the group’s Telegram channel.

READ: Release of hostages requires ceasefire, Hamas official says

“The truce should include a complete ceasefire and allow aid and humanitarian relief everywhere in the Gaza Strip,” he said.

He accused Israel of “procrastinating and evading” the deal’s price.

READ: Israel agrees pauses in fighting but rules out ceasefire