Hamas aims at permanent truce in Gaza

Hamas has reaffirmed its willingness to implement further stages of the Gaza cease-fire agreement with Israel, proposing swapping all Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners in "one go", with an aim of reaching a permanent truce and a full Israeli pullout, media reports said.

In an acceleration of such a process, Khalil al-Hayya, leader of Hamas in Gaza, said the group would return the bodies of four hostages, including the remains of two boys, on Thursday and hand over six hostages on Saturday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office subsequently confirmed a deal was reached in Cairo to secure the release.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said negotiations for the second phase of talks "will happen this week", but demanded the "complete demilitarization of Gaza", saying his country would "not accept the continued presence of Hamas" there.

In a statement, Hamas rejected Israel's call for its disarmament and removal from the Gaza Strip, with spokesman Hazem Qassem calling such a condition "ridiculous psychological war".

In the past few weeks, Israel has sent mixed signals about its engagement in talks over the next stage of the three-phased truce, which came into effect on Jan 19.

In addition, the fragile cease-fire deal has been overshadowed by US President Donald Trump's call for Palestinians to be permanently moved out and for Gaza to be taken over by the United States. The plan has been rejected by Palestinians, Arab states and Washington's Western allies.

On Wednesday, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan rejected any attempts to displace Palestinians from their land during a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, state media reported.

The Emirates News Agency said the UAE leader linked Gaza's reconstruction to a broader push for a "comprehensive and lasting peace", reiterating the UAE's commitment to a two-state solution as critical to regional stability.