Hamas proposes 6-week Gaza truce, hostage-prisoner exchange with Israel: official

Hamas has proposed a brand new six-week truce in Gaza and an change of a number of dozen Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, an official from the militant group instructed Agence France-Presse on Friday.

“The settlement is for a six-week ceasefire and a prisoner change,” the official mentioned after weeks of to date fruitless mediation efforts, including that the group would need this to result in “an entire [Israeli] withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a everlasting ceasefire”.

Throughout the proposed truce, Gaza militants would launch about 42 hostages seized in the course of the October 7 assault that triggered the struggle in Gaza, the official mentioned, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

Time lengthy overdue for ceasefire deal in bid to finish struggling of Gaza

The official mentioned that between 20 and 50 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails can be launched per hostage – up from a earlier proposal of a roughly 10-to-one ratio, in response to a Hamas supply in late February.

Below the brand new proposal, the preliminary change may embrace ladies, youngsters, aged and sick hostages, the official mentioned.

Throughout the October 7 assault, militants seized about 250 Israeli and overseas hostages, dozens of whom have been launched throughout a week-long truce in November. Israel believes about 130 captives stay in Gaza, together with 32 presumed lifeless.

The newest proposal seems to be a shift for Hamas, whose armed wing mentioned earlier this month there can be “no compromise” on its demand that Israel withdraw from Gaza earlier than any extra hostages are freed.

Now the militants are saying that, throughout a six-week truce, Israeli forces would wish to withdraw from “all cities and populated areas within the Gaza Strip” and permit for the return of displaced Gazans “with out restrictions”, the official mentioned.

The Hamas proposal additionally calls to ramp up the circulation of humanitarian support, the official added.

The phrases of an eventual ceasefire would see Israel’s “full army withdrawal from the Gaza Strip” and a complete hostage-for-prisoner change involving the discharge of all hostages for “an agreed-upon variety of Palestinian prisoners”, in response to the official.

“Egypt and Qatar, together with the USA, are answerable for following up and making certain the implementation of the settlement,” the official mentioned.

Hamas’s October 7 assault killed about 1,160 folks in Israel, largely civilians, in response to Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory army marketing campaign to destroy Hamas has killed no less than 31,490 folks in Gaza, largely ladies and kids, in response to the well being ministry within the Hamas-run territory.

Israel has to date refused to withdraw from Gaza, saying such a transfer would quantity to victory for Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s workplace mentioned late Thursday that Hamas “is constant to carry unrealistic calls for” however that an replace on truce talks can be submitted to Israel’s struggle cupboard on Friday.