Hamas is reviewing a proposed ceasefire agreement with Israel in Gaza that would include three phases and provide for a truce lasting several weeks, a source within the Palestinian Islamist movement told AFP on Wednesday.
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Hamas said on Tuesday it was considering a ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators at a recent meeting in Paris, following an initial week-long ceasefire in late November that pitted 105 hostages held in Gaza against 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel were exchanged.
The first phase of this proposal calls for a six-week ceasefire with the possibility of an extension. During that period, Israel must release between 200 and 300 Palestinian prisoners who are not being held under a high-security regime in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages held in Gaza, said a source within Hamas close to Egyptian mediators and Qataris.
Only “women, children and sick men over 60 years of age” held in Gaza can be released, this source told AFP on condition of anonymity. In addition, 200 to 300 trucks carrying humanitarian aid can enter the Gaza Strip every day.
“The first phase includes negotiations on the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the return of displaced people to the northern Gaza Strip,” this source said.
Hamas is demanding a complete ceasefire as a prerequisite for any agreement, particularly the release of Israeli hostages. Israel, for its part, refuses to stop fighting until the Islamist movement, which it, like the United States and the European Union, considers a terrorist organization, is eliminated.
If the initial ceasefire is honored, a second step aims to release “reservist soldiers” – any adult Israeli male expected to be called up as a reservist – in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.
According to this source, non-reservist soldiers could also be released, also in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The final phase concerns the exchange of the bodies of the deceased and an agreement on the control of the border crossings with the Gaza Strip and the reconstruction of the territory.
On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrating from Gaza carried out an unprecedented attack on Israeli soil, killing 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
In total, around 250 people were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli authorities, 132 hostages are still being held there, 29 of whom are believed to have died.
In response, Israel launched a massive military operation that left 26,900 people dead, the vast majority of them civilians, according to the Palestinian movement's health ministry.