In response to a proposal from Qatari and Egyptian mediators backed by the United States and Israel, Hamas proposed a ceasefire plan in the Gaza Strip for four and a half months that would eventually lead to ending the war, according to Reuters.
The proposal includes three phases lasting 45 days each. Over the course of the operation, the militants will exchange the remaining Israeli hostages they seized on October 7 for Palestinian prisoners. The plan also includes restoring the enclave’s infrastructure, withdrawal of Israeli troops and the exchange of bodies and remains.
All Israeli female hostages, men under 19, the elderly and the sick will also be released during the first 45-day phase in exchange for the liberation of Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons.
The remaining male hostages will be freed during the second stage, and the exchange of remains will take place during the third stage. According to the draft, Hamas plans to reach an agreement to end the war by the end of the third phase.
The truce will also increase the flow of essential provisions and medicines into Gaza amid a prolonged famine and acute shortages of basic supplies.
Israel launched a retaliatory military campaign in Gaza after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on October 7. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 27,585 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s military campaign.
