The announcement came as people began fleeing eastern Rafah after Israel ordered tens of thousands to evacuate.
Hamas has agreed to a proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza war put forward by mediators Qatar and Egypt, the Palestinian group said, although Israel has not yet commented on the proposal.
“Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political office of the Hamas movement, held a telephone conversation with the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and the Egyptian Minister of Intelligence, Mr. Abbas Kamel, and informed them of Hamas’s approval of the proposal for a Ceasefire agreement,” the group said in a statement posted on its official website on Monday.
Details of the proposal were not immediately clear and Israel has not yet officially commented on it.
The announcement came as people began fleeing the southern Gaza town of Rafah after Israel ordered tens of thousands of people to evacuate as fears of a full-scale military attack grew. More than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians have sought shelter in the region.
After Hamas’ announcement, crowds gathered in Rafah to cheer and celebrate.
Israel and Hamas have been involved in indirect talks mediated by Qatar and Egypt about a possible ceasefire in the Gaza war and an exchange of Israeli prisoners for Palestinian prisoners.
Egyptian and Hamas officials have previously said that a possible ceasefire would take place in phases in which Hamas would release Israeli prisoners it is holding in return for an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
It is not clear whether the agreement meets Hamas’s central demand for a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the return of displaced families to their homes.
Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah that people near the Kuwaiti hospital started celebrating when they heard the announcement.
Children and the elderly, as well as people cheering and demanding a return to Gaza City, he said.
“Everyone… is happy because they believe that a Rafah invasion would bring an unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe,” Abu Azzoum said. “Now they’re so optimistic.”
The announcement brought “a feeling of relief and calm” among Palestinians who were “exhausted and traumatized,” he said.
A displaced Palestinian in Rafah told Al Jazeera he hoped the deal would allow him to return to his home in Gaza City.
“We hope to return to our homes… I am from Gaza [city] himself,” he said.