A senior Hamas official said Wednesday that the Palestinian Islamist movement is ready to release all Israeli soldiers it is holding in exchange for all Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, AFP reported.

“We are ready to release all soldiers in exchange for all our prisoners,” Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official and former Gaza health minister, told a news conference in the South African city of Cape Town.

Naim added that Hamas was in “tough negotiations” to extend the current ceasefire, which is expected to end in principle on Thursday. “We, together with mediators, are trying to agree on a permanent truce,” he said.

The current truce began on Friday for four days, after which it was extended for another two days. The parties are in talks with Qatar-led mediators to avoid renewed fighting in the Gaza Strip, where the humanitarian situation is dire.

Since then, 74 hostages and dual nationals, including women and children, have been released in exchange for 180 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons, including women and men under the age of 19.

Among the 240 Israelis taken hostage in the Gaza Strip are soldiers who have so far been excluded from hostage and prisoner exchange agreements.

In 2011, more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners were released in exchange for the soldier Gilad Shalit, who was held by Hamas for five years.

Palestinian organizations say more than 7,000 Palestinians are being held in Israeli prisons.

Hamas has already offered last month to exchange all the hostages it is holding for all Palestinian prisoners.

The Israeli military said Wednesday it was “investigating” the death of a 10-month-old child, the youngest of the hostages taken on Oct. 7, along with his mother and four-year-old brother.

“We confirmed two to three weeks ago that 60 Israelis were killed by Israeli shelling and are still under the rubble,” Naim added. “This woman and two children are among that number, I can confirm that.”