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Through Egyptian and Qatari mediators, Israel has proposed to Hamas a two-month pause in fighting in exchange for the gradual release of all remaining hostages that Palestinian militants brought from Israel to the Gaza Strip during the October 7 attack, writes the American news website Axios Citing two unnamed Israeli officials.
According to the Israeli government, the Palestinian militants still hold about 132 hostages, but 28 of them are probably dead. Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by the US and EU, kidnapped in an attack on Israel on October 7 250 people, 105 of whom were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners as part of a – so far only – week-long ceasefire at the end of November. Hamas and other Palestinian militants killed 1,200 people, including about 1,000 civilians, in the October attack on Israel. In retaliation, Israel destroyed much of the Gaza Strip, forced most of the 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes and killed over 25,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas-led authorities.
According to two Israeli sources on the Axios server, the Israeli war cabinet approved the outlines of a draft new agreement on the release of hostages ten days ago and is waiting for a response from Hamas. Officials said they are cautiously optimistic on the matter.
According to the proposal, the new agreement would provide for the gradual release of all hostages still alive and the handover of the bodies of the dead. In the first phase, women, men over 60 years of age and those with serious medical conditions would be released. In the next steps, men under 60 who are not serving in the army and Israeli military personnel would be released, and the bodies of deceased hostages would also be handed over.
According to the sources, Israel is proposing a pause in fighting of up to two months during which the release of the hostages will be completed. Under the proposal, Israel and Hamas would also agree in advance how many Palestinian prisoners would be released for every Israeli prisoner in each category, and then hold separate negotiations for specific prisoners.
According to unofficial sources, the proposal also calls for the gradual return of Palestinian civilians to Gaza City and the northern part of the Gaza Strip, as well as the partial withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from the most populated parts of the Gaza Strip. However, according to unnamed officials, Israel made clear in the proposal that it does not intend to release all 6,000 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons and that it does not intend to end the war.
Brett McGurk, US President Joe Biden’s Middle East adviser, traveled to Egypt on Sunday and will continue to Qatar to make progress in negotiations for the release of the hostages. According to American sources from Axios, such an agreement may now be the only way to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
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