Germany said Monday that Israel accepted a proposal by a German mediator to free abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit captured by Hamas-linked militants in Gaza five years ago, but Hamas did not sign off on it.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that he had accepted the proposal, but Hamas rejected the deal. It is thought to include hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit.

Open gallery view Captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is seen in this file photo of a video released October 2, 2009. Saturday, June 25, 2011 marks the fifth anniversary of Shalit's capture. Credit: Reuters

Hamas, in response, said Netanyahu was lying about the mediation effort and said the prime minister holds full responsibility for the stalemate on a prisoner swap deal.

On Monday, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert confirmed that Israel had accepted a German-mediated offer.

He said that "so far, Hamas regrettably has not yet accepted this proposal." He gave no details of the proposed deal.