The United States presented a ceasefire plan for Gaza, which includes the exchange of prisoners and humanitarian aid. Hamas examines the proposal and the Israeli media report details about hostages.
According to the Israeli media, the special US President for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, presented the latest US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. According to him, the Palestinian militant Hamas movement should release ten Israeli hostages in exchange for the liberation of more than a thousand Palestinians. Hamas said he has already begun to investigate the proposal, he writes TASR based on AFP and DPA reports and the Times of Israel.
According to the US proposal, Hamas should be released in two phases during the first week of the ceasefire. Israel should, in turn, release 125 Palestinian convicts who serve lifelong penalties for terrorism, 1111 inhabitants of Gaza detained since the beginning of the war in Israel and hand over the bodies of 180 Palestinians, reports Al-Ghad.
According to the Times of Israel, the text does not have the promise of Tel Aviv to end the war. Witkoff was optimistic on Wednesday in the White House. He told reporters that he had “very good feelings”. The United States handed over the proposal to Hamas and Israel on Thursday night.
Hamas plan examines
In the meantime, Hamas confirmed that he received the plan and examine its conditions. “The management of the Hamas movement has received a new Witkoff’s proposal from the mediators, and it is now responsibly explored to serve the interests of our people, relieve the situation and achieve a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” the movement said.
According to Witkoff, a two-month ceasefire should serve for negotiations between two parties to terminate almost 20 months of conflict. He caused the Hamas attack to the south of Israel on October 7, 2023.
It follows from the proposal that the Israeli army should withdraw as the positions it held before the beginning of the March offensive. According to the Israeli media, there are at least 20 hostages in Gaza alive, and the state of three other kidnapped persons is unclear. It is assumed that there are also the remains of 35 hostages in the Palestinian enclave.
