Hamas proposes 135-day Gaza truce with total Israeli withdrawal, as Blinken meets Netanyahu
- The truce would also increase the flow of food and other aid to Gaza’s desperate civilians, who are facing hunger and dire shortages of basic supplies
- There was no immediate public response from Israel, which has said it will not pull its troops out of Gaza until Hamas is wiped out
Hamas has proposed a ceasefire plan that would quiet the guns in Gaza for four-and-a-half months, during which all hostages would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip and an agreement would be reached on an end to the war.
The militant group’s proposal – a response to an offer sent last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators – comes in the biggest diplomatic push yet for an extended halt to the fighting, and was met with hope and relief in the Gaza Strip.
There was no immediate public response from Israel, which has said it will not pull its troops out of Gaza until Hamas is wiped out.
According to a draft document seen by Reuters, the Hamas counterproposal envisages three phases of a truce, lasting 45 days each. Militants would exchange remaining Israeli hostages they captured on October 7 for Palestinian prisoners. The reconstruction of Gaza would begin, Israeli forces would withdraw completely, and bodies and remains would be exchanged.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived overnight in Israel after meeting the leaders of mediators Qatar and Egypt in an attempt to reach an extended truce.
A source close to the negotiations said the Hamas counterproposal did not require a guarantee of a permanent ceasefire at the outset, but that an end to the war would have to be agreed during the truce before the final hostages were freed.