GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Nearly a month after Israel resumed its aerial and ground assaults across Gaza to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages in the territory, the Palestinian militant group says it had received a new ceasefire proposal from Israel.
A senior Hamas official told AFP that the group would “most likely” respond within 48 hours.
The proposal was delivered to the group’s delegation in Cairo over the weekend by Egyptian officials, who are mediating in the ceasefire talks.
Another senior Hamas official told AFP late on Monday that Israel had proposed a 45-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 living hostages.
In return, Israel would free 1,231 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory, which it has been fully blockading since March 2.
During Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza, Palestinian militants abducted 251 hostages, 58 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
A previous ceasefire, initiated on January 19, resulted in the release of 33 hostages in exchange for about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners, before it collapsed two months later.
The latest proposal also stipulates that any hostage release occur privately, in contrast to the previous releases involving public ceremonies in Gaza that drew widespread criticism in Israel.
The Hamas official said that the Israeli proposal calls for the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander on the first day of the ceasefire as a “gesture of goodwill.”
Alexander is the only living hostage to hold US citizenship.
On the second day, Hamas would exchange five more hostages for 66 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails and 611 Gazans detained during the current war.
On the third day, talks would begin over “day after” scenarios for when the war ends, including the disarmament of Hamas and other Palestinian factions in exchange for a permanent ceasefire.
Hamas has insisted that preserving its arms is a red line.
In the second week of the ceasefire, Hamas would release four more living hostages in exchange for 54 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and another 500 Gaza detainees.
Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan 11, said that the proposal also stipulates that Hamas release the bodies of 16 hostages on the 20th day of the ceasefire.
Hamas negotiators visited Cairo last week where they received the proposal, Suhail Al-Hindi, a member of the group’s political bureau, told AFP on Tuesday.
The official who spoke to AFP the day before said on Tuesday that “Hamas will most likely send its response to the mediators within the next 48 hours, as the movement is still conducting in-depth consultations... within its leadership framework, as well as with resistance factions, in order to formulate a unified position.”
He said that consultations were ongoing, and that Hamas was “keen to end the aggression and the war” but would require guarantees from Egypt, Qatar and US mediators that Israel would uphold its side of the deal.
“Hamas has no issue with the number of prisoners and is ready to release them all at once or in batches,” he added.
Israel has remained silent on the latest proposal.
However, the campaign group Tikva Forum of Hostages’ Families, which represents a small group of families of hostages advocating for the continuation of military pressure, said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had confirmed that the country was indeed seeking the release of 10 living captives.
According to the group, Netanyahu spoke with Ditza Or, the mother of hostage Avinatan Or, late on Monday and confirmed that Alexander was among those included in the proposed exchange.
She responded by saying that “there is a moral obligation to return everyone together in one stage and on one bus,” the group added.
