Hamas has responded to the ceasefire proposal made last week by mediators from Qatar and Egypt after being agreed to by Israel and the United States. In its counterproposal, the Islamist organization proposes a plan that would silence the guns in Gaza for four and a half months. During this period, divided into three phases of 45 days each, Hamas and the Palestinian guerrillas would release all the Israeli hostages they are still holding, while Israel would have to withdraw its troops starting in the second phase of the plan, according to a draft of the document to which Reuters has had access.
So far, there has yet to be a public response from Israel, which has repeatedly said it will not withdraw its troops from Gaza until Hamas is eliminated. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived overnight in Israel after meeting leaders of mediators Qatar and Egypt in the war’s most serious diplomatic push yet aimed at reaching a long-term truce. .
According to the document, during the first 45-day phase, all Israeli women hostages, men under the age of 19, and the elderly and sick would be released, in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons. Israel would also withdraw its troops from populated areas of Gaza during this first phase.
The implementation of the second phase would not begin until the parties conclude “indirect talks on the requirements necessary to end mutual military operations and return to complete calm.” The second phase would include the release of the remaining male hostages and “the withdrawal of Israeli forces outside the borders of all areas of the Gaza Strip.”
The bodies and remains would be exchanged during the third phase. The truce would also include rebuilding the battered Palestinian enclave and increasing the flow of food and other aid to Gaza’s desperate civilians, many of whom are at risk of famine as well as severe shortages of basic supplies.
For the moment, in the strip, where the bombings continue, the counterproposal was received with some enthusiasm. “People are optimistic, while praying that this hope becomes a real agreement that ends the war,” said Yamen Hamad, a father of four, who lives in a UN school in Deir al Balah. , in central Gaza.
The only temporary ceasefire that has been reached in this war took place at the end of November and allowed the release of 110 hostages, most of them women and children, as well as 240 Palestinian prisoners in seven days. On that occasion Qatar was also a key negotiator.
Pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu grew yesterday when the Israeli army confirmed the death of 31 of the 136 hostages still held captive in Gaza. There is a growing Israeli movement, fueled by the hostages’ relatives, demanding more efforts to bring their loved ones home, even if it means an agreement with Hamas. The Wall Street Journal published a higher hostage death toll of at least 50, which would leave about 80 alive, according to an Israeli assessment that was shared with U.S. and Egyptian officials and to which the newspaper had access. This figure has not been confirmed by Israel.
Israel began its military offensive in Gaza after militants from Hamas-ruled Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on October 7. Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 27,585 Palestinians have been confirmed dead in Israel’s military campaign, and thousands more are feared buried under the rubble.