Hamas has said it has received a new proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner releases in Gaza and is reviewing it.
The proposal was made by mediators after negotiations with Israel. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says the ceasefire proposal is being reviewed. He said that Hamas’s priority is to end Israeli aggression and ensure the complete withdrawal of troops.
A senior Hamas official said the proposal included a three-phase ceasefire. Civilians, among those taken prisoner On October 7, 2023 will be released, followed by soldiers and finally the bodies of prisoners who have been killed during the Israeli offensive on Gaza.
It was the first time since the collapse of the Humanitarian Truce in late November that details of a new proposal being considered by the parties have been released.
The ceasefire proposal came after talks in Paris with the intelligence chiefs of Israel, the US and Egypt and Qatar’s prime minister.
The parties have so far only been negotiating a temporary ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has reiterated his commitment not to withdraw troops from Gaza until “total victory”. While Hamas says it will release the remaining prisoners only as part of a broader deal to end the war permanently.
Israel says it will not stop fighting until the militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007 is eliminated.
Netanyahu is under pressure from his ally Washington to pave the way for an end to the war, and the Israeli government is also facing pressure from relatives of prisoners back home. But far-right parties in Netanyahu’s ruling coalition say they will leave the coalition rather than support a deal to release the prisoners.
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