Hamas agrees to release a US-Israeli hostage and the bodies of 4 other dual nationals

JERUSALEM — Hamas said Friday it has accepted a proposal from mediators to release one living American-Israeli hostage and the bodies of four dual-national hostages who died in captivity.

Hamas did not immediately specify when the release of soldier Edan Alexander and the four bodies would occur, and other countries party to the agreement did not immediately confirm the Hamas statement.

The statement comes as talks continue in Doha to try to broker the next stage of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, the first phase of which ended two weeks ago.

In a separate statement, Hamas official Husam Badran reaffirmed what he said was Hamas’ commitment to fully implementing the ceasefire agreement in all its phases, warning that any Israeli deviation from the terms would return negotiations to square one.

Israel is pressing the militant group to accept an extension of the first phase of the ceasefire. Hamas wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, which would see the release of remaining hostages from Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace.