Hamas says it will release a US-Israeli hostage and 4 bodies, but Israel expresses immediate doubt

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian militant group Hamas said Friday that it has accepted a proposal from mediators to release one living American-Israeli hostage and the bodies of four dual nationals who had died in captivity. The Israeli prime minister's office cast doubt on the offer, accusing Hamas of trying to manipulate talks underway in Qatar on the next stage of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.

Hamas, which rules over what remains of the Gaza Strip, didn't immediately specify when the release of soldier Edan Alexander and the four bodies would take place — or what it expected to get in return.

Alexander was 19 when he was abducted from his base on the border with Gaza in southern Israel during Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that sparked the war, which has been the deadliest and most destructive fighting ever between Israel and Hamas.

It wasn't clear which mediators proposed what Hamas was discussing. Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. have been guiding negotiations, and none had confirmed making the suggestion as of Friday night.

U.S. officials, including envoy Steve Witkoff, said Friday that they had presented a proposal Wednesday to extend the ceasefire a few more weeks as the sides negotiate a permanent truce. The officials said in a statement that Hamas was claiming flexibility in public while privately making “entirely impractical" demands.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that Israel had "accepted the Witkoff outline and showed flexibility,” but that Hamas was refusing to do so.

“At the same time, it continues to use manipulation and psychological warfare — the reports about Hamas’ willingness to release American hostages are intended to sabotage the negotiations,” read a letter from the government to hostage families.

It added that Israel’s negotiating team would return Friday from Qatar's capital, Doha. Netanyahu said that he plans to convene his ministerial team Saturday night to hear from the negotiators and decide on the next steps.

Hamas, meanwhile, sent a delegation to Cairo to discuss the ceasefire negotiations with Egyptian officials.

Hamas official Husam Badran reaffirmed Friday what he said was the group’s commitment to fully implementing the ceasefire agreement in all its phases. He warned that any Israeli deviation from the terms would return negotiations to square one.

The White House announced last week that American officials had engaged in “ongoing talks and discussions” with Hamas, stepping away from a long-held U.S. policy of not directly engaging with the militant group. That prompted a terse response from Netanyahu’s office.

The U.S. said Friday that under its proposal, Hamas would release Alexander and other living hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and increased humanitarian aid to Gaza. The militants were told that the proposal would have to be accepted soon, the U.S. statement said, adding that delay would not pay off for Hamas.

The first phase of the ceasefire ended two weeks ago, but the pause in fighting has held — if tensely — for now. The initial phase allowed the return of 25 living hostages and the remains of eight others in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli forces have withdrawn to buffer zones inside Gaza, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have returned to northern Gaza and hundreds of trucks of aid entered daily until Israel cut off supplies to the territory's 2 million people two weeks ago.

Hamas is believed to be holding 24 living hostages and the bodies of 35 others.

The Hostage Families Forum, which represents most captives' families, said Friday it welcomed plans for any releases, but “without a comprehensive deal, we risk sealing the fate of all remaining hostages.”

Israel has been urging Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for an extension of the first phase, and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. The supply cutoff came as Israel pressed the militants to agree. About 80% of Gaza's residents have lost access to food sources, and 90% can't access clean drinking water, according to the Hamas-run government media office in Gaza.

Hamas wants to start negotiations on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, which would entail the release of the remaining hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and a lasting peace.

The developments came as Jews began celebrating the Purim holiday, and Muslims continued marking the holy month of Ramadan. Around 80,000 Muslim worshippers prayed Friday at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, according to the Islamic Trust, which monitors the site. Israel is allowing only men over age 55 and women over 50 to enter from the occupied territory.

“The conditions are extremely difficult,” said Yousef Badreen, a Palestinian who left the southern West Bank city of Hebron at dawn to make it to Jerusalem. “We wish they will open it for good.”

Hamas accused Israel of escalating a “religious war” against Palestinians, casting the Al-Aqsa restrictions as “systematic targeting of Muslim religious practices." The Israeli government didn't immediately respond.

Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok, Jennifer Peltz in New York and Darlene Superville in Kissimmee, Florida, contributed to this report.

An elderly Palestinian woman leaves after she was not allowed to cross from the Israeli military Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah to Jerusalem, to participate in the Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Palestinians cross from the Israeli military Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah to Jerusalem, to participate in the Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

An elderly Palestinian woman rests after she was not allowed to cross from the Israeli military Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah to Jerusalem, to participate in the Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

A Palestinian man leaves after he was not allowed to cross from the Israeli military Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah to Jerusalem, to participate in the Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Palestinians perform Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinians cross from the Israeli military Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah to Jerusalem, to participate in the Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Palestinian women sit under the shade before Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinians take part in Friday prayers in the ruins of a Mosque that was partially destroyed by Israeli bombardment, in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Friday, March 14, 2025, during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinian women perform Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinians take part in Friday prayers in the ruins of a Mosque that was partially destroyed by Israeli bombardment, in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, Friday, March 14, 2025, during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians perform Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinians cross from the Israeli military Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah to Jerusalem, to participate in the Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Palestinian women take a photo next to the the Dome of the Rock shrine at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

The bodies of Palestinians killed during the Israel-Hamas war and were buried in a mass grave at Shifa Hospital yard are exhumed for identification and reburial in Gaza City's official cemeteries, on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has told allies to “keep the pressure” on Russian President Vladimir Putin to back a ceasefire in Ukraine, hailing Ukraine as the “party of peace.”

In his opening remarks Saturday, Starmer said Putin will “sooner or later” have to “come to the table.”

Unlike the first summit on March 2, the meeting of what Starmer has termed the “coalition of the willing” is being conducted virtually. The call is expected to delve into how countries can help Ukraine militarily and financially as well as gauging support for any future possible peacekeeping mission in the event Putin backs a cessation of hostilities.

“My feeling is that sooner or later he's going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussion, but — this is a big but for us this morning in our meeting — we can’t sit back and simply wait for that to happen," Starmer told leaders while sitting in front of a screen in an office in 10, Downing Street.

“I think that means strengthening Ukraine so they can defend themselves, and strengthening, obviously, in terms of military capability, in terms of funding, in terms of the provision of further support from all of us to Ukraine.”

Around 25 countries are expected to be involved in the call, including European partners such as France and Italy, and Ukraine. Leaders from Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as well as officials from NATO and the European Union’s executive, are also set to take part. The United States is not represented at the meeting.

Saturday’s meeting takes place in the wake of a U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has backed. Putin has indicated that he supports a truce in principle but has set out a host of details that need to be clarified before agreeing to a ceasefire.

“President Zelensky, who’s with us this morning, has shown once again that Ukraine is the party of peace, because he has agreed to and committed to a 30-day unconditional ceasefire," Starmer said. “Now what we see, and this is centerpiece for our discussions today, is that Putin is the one trying to delay.”

The United States has shifted its approach on the war since the return of President Donald Trump to the White House. The change of approach relative to that taken by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, became particularly notable after Trump clashed with Zelenskyy on Feb. 28 in the Oval Office.

Trump voiced optimism Friday that Putin, who met with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff earlier in the week, will back a ceasefire.

“I'm getting from the standpoint about a ceasefire and ultimately a deal some pretty good vibes coming out of Russia,” he said.

Starmer has taken the lead, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, in assembling the “coalition of the willing,” in part to persuade Trump to maintain support for Kyiv. One outcome has already been a growing acceptance from European countries in particular that they need to do more to ensure their own security, including by increasing their defense spending.

Images from the Elysee showed Macron and his aides listening to Starmer's opening statement in a room of the French presidential palace.

Ukraine, under severe military pressure on parts of the front line three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, has already endorsed the truce proposal. Russia’s army has gained battlefield momentum, and analysts say Putin likely will be reluctant to rush into a ceasefire while he feels he has an advantage.

Starmer said that if Putin is “serious about peace,” he has to “stop his barbaric attacks" on Ukraine and agree to a ceasefire.

“The world is watching,” he said.

John Leicester in Paris contributed to this report.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with European leaders at the beginning of a video conference at 10 Downing Street in London, England, March 15, 2025. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with European leaders at the beginning of a video conference at 10 Downing Street in London, England, March 15, 2025. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with European leaders at the beginning of a video conference at 10 Downing Street in London, England, March 15, 2025. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, , shakes hands with Colonel-General Ruslan Khomchak, First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, as French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, right, and Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces Thierry Burkhard, left, look on during a meeting on the conflict in Ukraine at the Musee de la Marine as part of the Paris Defense and Strategy Forum in Paris, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during the briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, March 14, 2025, Russian soldiers ride atop of self-propelled gun at an area in the Kursk region of Russia after it was taken over by Russian troops. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Friday, March 14, 2025, a Russian soldier rises a red flag atop of a house at an area in the Kursk region of Russia after it was taken over by Russian troops. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer gestures during a Q&A session after delivering a speech on plans to reform the civil service, during a visit to Reckitt Benckiser Health Care UK Ltd in Kingston upon Hull, England, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Oli Scarff/Pool Photo via AP)

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer departs 10 Downing Street to attend Prime Minister's Questions at the Houses of Parliament in London, England, Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Stefan Rousseau/PA via AP)