Gaza
Israel is reported to have readied a proposal for a two-month truce that aims to secure the release of captives held by Hamas and other groups but without ending the war in Gaza.
US and Israeli press reported late on Monday that Israel is optimistic that it could conclude a deal with the help of the US. The plan comes against a backdrop of intensified combat in southern Gaza as well as increasing pressure on the Israeli government to find a deal to bring the captives home.
US website Axios quoted Israeli officials as saying that the proposal has been presented to Hamas through Qatari and Egyptian mediators. It includes a two-month truce during which all Israeli detainees in Gaza will be released.
Israel’s Channel 13 reported that the principles of the deal consist of three to four stages of captive release. Meanwhile, the Israeli military would withdraw from some areas of the enclave, but without ending the war.
Reports suggest that the US is pushing the plan with regional partners.
The White House’s Middle East coordinator, Brett McGurk, is now in Cairo to discuss the deal, with plans to continue to Qatar.
“We are engaged in serious negotiations and discussions between the two sides of the crisis in Gaza,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told a press conference in Doha.
“Mediation efforts between the Palestinians and Israel are still ongoing and will not stop, regardless of the circumstances on the ground,” he added.
Reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker said that the proposal included plans to release captives in phases, starting with women and those over 60.
A second phase would see a handover of female soldiers and men deemed as non-soldiers by Hamas. The third phase would include male soldiers and bodies remaining inside Gaza.
Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers could be redeployed away from some urban areas to allow Palestinians to return home.
