Hamas has proposed a ceasefire plan that could end the war in Gaz after three 45-day truce periods. In response to the Israel-backed ceasefire proposal, Hamas laid out a series of demands, including full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners and rebuilding Gaza.
The proposal to Hamas was sent last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators and backed by the United States and Israel and its counterproposal envisions three phases lasting 45 days each, according to a report by the news agency Reuters.
Demands in Hamas counterproposal
According to the Hamas counterproposal, all Israeli women hostages, males under 19, the elderly and the sick, captured on October 7 last year, 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 bodies and remains 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.
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 the list of Palestinians handed life sentences by Israel.
The truce would also increase the flow of food and other aid to Gaza’s desperate civilians who are facing hunger and dire shortages of basic supplies.
Israel began its military offensive in Gaza after militants from Hamas-ruled Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
As per Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 27,585 Palestinians have been confirmed killed in Israel’s military campaign, with thousands more feared buried under rubble.
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