Cairo, Dec 17 (AP) Hamas said Tuesday that the militant group believes it's still possible to reach a Gaza ceasefire agreement and a hostage exchange deal that would end Israel's 14-months war in the enclave.

The group said in a statement that such deal is still possible if Israel stops adding “new conditions” to the ceasefire proposal. A spokesperson with Hamas said he has no details about the alleged new conditions being referred to.

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Still, Hamas lauded the “serious and positive” meditation efforts by Egypt and Qatar to reach a ceasefire.

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said on X Tuesday morning that Israel wants to have “security control” over Gaza the same way it does in the West Bank after it dismantles Hamas' military and government capabilities.

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“We will not allow any terrorist organisation against Israeli communities and Israeli citizens from Gaza. We will not allow a return to the reality of before October 7th,” he wrote on the social media platform.

Officials close to ceasefire negotiations previously said that Israel is interested in maintaining military presence along the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow buffer zone along Gaza's border with Egypt. Israeli officials also want to separate south Gaza from the north by maintaining military presence in Netzarim corridor.

Hamas rejected those demands and said that deploying Israeli troops at those corridors would be deemed as a military occupation of Gaza. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)