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©(Omar El-Qattaa, AFP)
Hamas has put forward a new ceasefire proposal which would see a six-week truce and the mutual exchange of prisoners, alongside the phased withdrawal of the Israeli military and the return of displaced Gazans.
Hamas proposed a new six-week truce in Gaza and an exchange of several dozen Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official from the militant group told AFP on Friday.
"The agreement is for a six-week ceasefire and a prisoner exchange," the official said after weeks of so far fruitless mediation efforts, adding that the group would want this to lead to "a complete (Israeli) withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a permanent ceasefire."
During the proposed truce, Gaza militants would release about 42 hostages seized during the October 7 attack, the official said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
He added that between 20 and 50 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails would be released per hostage – up from a previous proposal of a roughly 10-to-one ratio, according to a Hamas source in late February.
Under the new proposal, the initial exchange could include women, children, elderly and ill hostages, the official said.
During the October 7 attack, militants seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, dozens of whom were released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes that about 130 captives remain in Gaza, including 32 presumed dead.
The latest proposal appears to be a shift for Hamas, whose armed wing said earlier this month that there would be "no compromise" on its demand that Israel withdraw from Gaza before any more hostages are freed.
Now, the militants are saying that, during a six-week truce, Israeli forces would need to withdraw from "all cities and populated areas in the Gaza Strip" and allow for the return of displaced Gazans "without restrictions," the official added.
The Hamas proposal also calls to ramp up the flow of humanitarian aid, he said.
The terms of an eventual ceasefire would see Israel's "complete military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip" and a comprehensive hostage-for-prisoner exchange involving the release of all hostages for "an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners," according to the official.
"Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, are responsible for following up and ensuring the implementation of the agreement," the official said.
Israel has so far refused to withdraw from Gaza, saying that such a move would amount to victory for Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said late on Thursday that Hamas "is continuing to hold unrealistic demands" but that an update on truce talks would be submitted to Israel's war cabinet on Friday.
With AFP
Hamas proposed a new six-week truce in Gaza and an exchange of several dozen Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official from the militant group told AFP on Friday.
"The agreement is for a six-week ceasefire and a prisoner exchange," the official said after weeks of so far fruitless mediation efforts, adding that the group would want this to lead to "a complete (Israeli) withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a permanent ceasefire."
During the proposed truce, Gaza militants would release about 42 hostages seized during the October 7 attack, the official said, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
He added that between 20 and 50 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails would be released per hostage – up from a previous proposal of a roughly 10-to-one ratio, according to a Hamas source in late February.
Under the new proposal, the initial exchange could include women, children, elderly and ill hostages, the official said.
During the October 7 attack, militants seized about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, dozens of whom were released during a week-long truce in November. Israel believes that about 130 captives remain in Gaza, including 32 presumed dead.
The latest proposal appears to be a shift for Hamas, whose armed wing said earlier this month that there would be "no compromise" on its demand that Israel withdraw from Gaza before any more hostages are freed.
Now, the militants are saying that, during a six-week truce, Israeli forces would need to withdraw from "all cities and populated areas in the Gaza Strip" and allow for the return of displaced Gazans "without restrictions," the official added.
The Hamas proposal also calls to ramp up the flow of humanitarian aid, he said.
The terms of an eventual ceasefire would see Israel's "complete military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip" and a comprehensive hostage-for-prisoner exchange involving the release of all hostages for "an agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners," according to the official.
"Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, are responsible for following up and ensuring the implementation of the agreement," the official said.
Israel has so far refused to withdraw from Gaza, saying that such a move would amount to victory for Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said late on Thursday that Hamas "is continuing to hold unrealistic demands" but that an update on truce talks would be submitted to Israel's war cabinet on Friday.
With AFP
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