NextFin news, On Monday, September 22, 2025, Hamas sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump proposing a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of half of the Israeli hostages captured during the October 7, 2023 attack. The letter requests U.S. guarantees that the truce would remain in place while negotiations continue, aiming to end the ongoing conflict and secure the release of the remaining captives.
The letter is currently with Qatari mediators and is expected to be delivered to President Trump this week, according to reports from U.S. media outlets including Fox News, which cited a senior U.S. official. Hamas has not publicly commented on the letter.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Hamas to accept ceasefire terms, warning earlier this month that "there will be no further warning." Trump stated that Israel has agreed to the U.S. proposal and called on Hamas to do the same, expressing optimism that a deal is "not far off."
The U.S. proposal, conveyed by Envoy Steve Witkoff through mediators, calls for Hamas to release all 48 remaining Israeli hostages—both living and deceased—in return for a ceasefire and the end of Israel’s military campaign to seize Gaza City. The deal also includes Israel releasing between 2,500 and 3,000 Palestinian prisoners, including hundreds serving life sentences, according to an Israeli official familiar with the plan.
Following the announcement of a ceasefire, negotiations would begin on ending the war, including Israel’s demand for Hamas to disarm and Hamas’s call for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
The Israeli military reports that 47 hostages remain in Gaza, 25 of whom are deceased, out of 251 people captured during the 2023 attack by Hamas. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza has killed at least 65,344 people, the majority of whom are civilians.
This development comes amid intense international attention on the Gaza conflict and ongoing efforts by various mediators to broker a ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
Explore more exclusive insights at nextfin.ai.