Hamas has proposed a ceasefire plan that would quiet the guns in Gaza for four-and-a-half months leading to an end to the war, in response to a proposal sent last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators and backed by the United States and Israel.
According to a draft document seen by Reuters, the Hamas counterproposal envisions three phases lasting 45 days each.
The proposal would see terrorists exchange the remaining Israeli hostages they captured on Oct. 7 for Palestinian prisoners. The reconstruction of Gaza would begin, Israeli forces would withdraw completely, and bodies and remains would be exchanged.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived overnight in Israel after meeting the leaders of mediators Qatar and Egypt in the most serious diplomatic push of the war so far aimed at reaching an extended truce. Details of Hamas’s counteroffer have not previously been reported.
Protesters calling for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, February 1, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/SUSANA VERA)
Deal to include increase in humanitarian aid
According to the Hamas counterproposal, all Israeli women hostages, males under the age of 19, the elderly, and the sick would be released during the first 45-day phase in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails.
The remaining male hostages would be released during the second phase and remain exchanged in the third phase. By the end of the third phase, Hamas would expect the sides to have reached an agreement on an end to the war.
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The group, which governs Gaza, said in an addendum to the proposal that it wished for the release of 1500 prisoners, a third of whom it wanted to select from a list of Palestinians handed life sentences by Israel.
Hamas also demands an increase in aid to the Gaza Strip to at least 500 trucks per day, a commitment to increase equipment, water, and electricity that is transferred to Gaza, facilitation of the return of refugees to their homes, and the removal of any Israeli restriction regarding those traveling through the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
Israel began its military offensive in Gaza after terrorists from Hamas-ruled Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
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