HAMAS suggested today that it was open to a ceasefire agreement with Israel, but it stopped short of accepting a US-backed proposal announced by President Donald Trump hours earlier.

The Palestinian resistance group is sticking to its longstanding position that any deal must bring an end to the war in Gaza.

Mr Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen. 

The US president said the 60-day period would be used to work towards ending the war — something that Israel says it will not accept until Hamas has been defeated. 

He said a deal might come together as soon as next week.

Hamas official Taher al-Nunu said his organisation was “ready to accept any initiative that clearly leads to the complete end to the war."

The Palestinian group has said it is willing to free the remaining 50 hostages, fewer than half of whom are said to be alive, in exchange for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war.

Hamas says it is conducting consultations over the ceasefire proposals.

But Israel says it will only agree to end the war if Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile, which Hamas refuses to do.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed again today that “there will be no Hamas” in postwar Gaza. He is due to visit the White House for talks next Monday. 

Meanwhile, a new report published by United Nations Rapporteur Francesca Albanese on Tuesday accused 60 major tech companies and executives of profiteering from Israel’s “displacement and replacement” of Palestinians. 

She called on corporations such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft to cut ties with Israel and for executives to be held accountable for enabling and profiting from crimes including illegal occupation, apartheid and genocide in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Ms Albanese accused the companies of being involved in the “transformation of Israel's economy of occupation to an economy of genocide."

She added: “Too many influential corporate entities remain inextricably financially bound to Israel’s apartheid and militarism.”

Ms Albanese called on UN member states to impose sanctions and full arms embargoes on Israel and to suspend all trade agreements and investor relations on any individuals or entities that endanger Palestinians. 

The report also calls on the International Criminal Court and national judiciaries to investigate and prosecute corporate executives and entities for “their part in the commission of international crimes and laundering of the proceeds from those crimes.”