Israel-Gaza war: Hamas ready for ceasefire talks 'immediately', Donald Trump says 'that's good'

Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the latter stated it was ready to start talks "immediately" on a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, reported AFP.

The announcement by Hamas arrived following it held consultations with other Palestinian factions and before a visit on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington.

The militant group statement said, as quoted by AFP, "The movement is ready to engage immediately and seriously in a cycle of negotiations on the mechanism to put in place the terms of a draft US-backed truce proposal received from mediators."

Though Hamas ally Islamic Jihad said it supported ceasefire talks, it demanded "guarantees" that Israel "will not resume its aggression" once hostages held in Gaza are freed.

Earlier on Friday, on being asked about Hamas's response aboard Air Force One, United States President Donald Trump said, "That's good. They haven't briefed me on it. We have to get it over with. We have to do something about Gaza."

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to bring home the hostages, after coming under massive domestic pressure over their fate.

Mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, the region witnessed two ceasefires which resulted in temporary halts in fighting, coupled with the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

With agency inputs.

More to come...