Hamas said Saturday it was ready to hand over its weapons in the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian authority governing the territory on the condition that the Israeli army's occupation ends.

"Our weapons are linked to the existence of the occupation and the aggression," Hamas chief negotiator and its Gaza chief Khalil al-Hayya said in a statement, adding:"If the occupation ends, these weapons will be placed under the authority of the state." Asked by AFP, Hayya's bureau said he was referring to a sovereign and independent Palestinian state.

"We accept the deployment of UN forces as a separation force, tasked with monitoring the borders and ensuring compliance with the ceasefire in Gaza," Hayya added, signalling his group's rejection of the deployment of an international force in the Strip whose mission would be to disarm it.

While the ceasefire halted the heavy fighting of the two-year war, Gaza health officials say that Israel has killed more than 360 Palestinians since the truce took effect on October 10.