Israel has signalled openness to allowing the return of Palestinians displaced from the northern Gaza Strip as part of truce talks, an apparent accommodation of a core Hamas demand, Reuters reports.

Both sides have stepped up negotiations, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, on a six-week suspension of Israel’s offensive in return for the proposed release of 40 of the 130 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas has sought to parlay any deal into an end to the fighting and withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel has ruled this out, saying it would eventually resume efforts to dismantle the governance and military capabilities of Hamas.

Hamas also wants hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled Gaza City and surrounding areas southward during the first stage of the almost six-month-old war to be allowed back north.

Israel initially refused to do so. But that position has softened, an Israeli official briefed on the Doha talks said. “We are now willing to discuss a return of some of the displaced,” the official told Reuters, without elaborating on numbers. Israeli media have speculated that the offer would be limited to women and children, to bar gunmen trying to reinforce those the Israeli military is still battling in parts of Gaza City.