Hamas has agreed to a new Egyptian proposal to release 5 hostages, including the American-Israeli Edan Alexander, in exchange for a renewed ceasefire, a Hamas source tells CNN.

Israel ended the existing ceasefire last week by launching a surprise wave of airstrikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians. That came after Hamas rejected Israeli-backed proposals to change the agreement in order to free more hostages before talks on a lasting ceasefire, which were supposed to begin in early February.

"Two days ago, we received a proposal from the mediators in Egypt and Qatar," said Hamas chief, Khalil al-Hayya.