Egypt proposed a new outline for a hostage release deal on Sunday that would see Hamas release 40 Israelis taken into the Gaza Strip in exchange for a 14-day truce, Israeli and foreign media reported.
As per Cairo’s proposal, the IDF would halt all military and intelligence operations in the Strip for two weeks in exchange for the release of 40 hostages.
The Egyptian deal, reported by foreign media citing Palestinian officials to be a “three-stage” plan to end fighting Gaza, also includes the release of 120 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
Egypt’s three-stage plan to end war in Gaza
The second stage of the Egyptian proposal includes negotiations with the Palestinian Authority in hopes of establishing an emergency security government in Gaza involving different Palestinian factions.
The third stage, as per the reports, includes a prolonged period of ceasefire, the return of more hostages from Gaza, and an eventual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the coastal enclave.
Following the publication of Egypt’s proposal, an Israeli source told Maariv that some elements of the proposal were unacceptable. However, they added, “the Egyptian initiative could lead to negotiations.”
Islamic Jihad leaders in Cairo for ceasefire talks
A delegation from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, a militant group allied with Hamas which is known to be holding some of the Israeli captives in Gaza, has arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian security officials, a member of the group with knowledge of the talks told Reuters on Sunday.
The talks will center on “ways to end the Israeli aggression on our people,” said the official from the Iran-backed group, which has so far rejected any new prisoner-swap deals with Israel before the latter ends its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
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