A Hamas official has said the group will respond to an Israeli truce proposal for Gaza “within a very short period”, stressing that any ceasefire needs to be permanent.

Hamas is considering a plan for a 40-day ceasefire and the exchange of scores of hostages for larger numbers of Palestinian prisoners.

Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas official, told AFP the group would “deliver its response clearly within a very short period”, although he would not say precisely when that was expected to happen.

Speaking to AFP by phone from an undisclosed location, he said it was premature to say whether the Hamas envoys, who have returned from talks in Cairo to their base in Qatar, felt any progress was made.

He stressed the aim was “to reach an end to this war”.