Hamas said it is prepared to release American-Israeli soldier Edan Alexander and the bodies of four dual nationals held hostage in Gaza.

Hamas said Saturday it will only release an American-Israeli and the bodies of four other hostages if Israel implements their ceasefire agreement, calling it an ''exceptional deal'' aimed at getting the truce back on track.

Hamas says it has accepted a proposal from mediators to release one living American-Israeli hostage and the bodies of four dual-nationals.

Hamas delivered its first response to three days of Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip, but it has yet to hit back effectively.

The Israeli military expanded its ground operations across the Gaza Strip on Thursday as Hamas fired rockets at central Israel for the first time in months, in what looked increasingly like a slide back toward full-scale war.