According to a draft obtained by Reuters, Hamas proposes a four and a half month ceasefire. In a gradual ceasefire, prisoners would be exchanged and Israel would withdraw its forces from Gaza.
The ceasefire proposal by the extremist organization Hamas is a response to the initiative of Qatar and Egypt, which acted as mediators in the Gaza war.
Hamas’s proposal for a ceasefire is three-phased, so that each phase would last 45 days. The news agency Reuters has received the draft of the proposal.
In the proposal, Hamas would exchange the hostages it seized from Israel for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Hamas, which controls Gaza, would hand over women, men under 19, the elderly and children held hostage in the first 45 days in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners. Hamas demands the release of 1,500 prisoners held by Israel.
“A ceasefire would end the war”
In the second phase of the agreement, more hostages would be handed over, and in the third phase the rest. Hamas reportedly still holds more than a hundred hostages alive.
According to Hamas’s proposal, Israel should withdraw completely from the Gaza Strip.
According to Reuters, a ceasefire planned by Hamas would end the war in Gaza.
Blinken continues his journey in the Middle East
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived late Tuesday night in Israel after meeting representatives of Qatar and Egypt.
The talks are seen as the most serious attempt yet to reach a ceasefire in the war, which erupted after Hamas terrorists carried out an unprecedented and bloody attack on Israel in early October.
Israel and the United States have said they are considering a response to the Hamas proposal.