Egypt's proposal for a ceasefire involves Hamas gradually releasing eight living hostages, reports The Times of Israel, citing the London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. Additionally, the remains of eight other hostages are to be handed over to Israel.
The proposal is described as a middle ground between Israel's demand for the release of 11 living hostages and Hamas' offer of five.
In exchange, a large number of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel are to be released, and a ceasefire of 40-70 days is to take effect.
Over 20 still alive
According to the news website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, a Hamas delegation is now on its way to Cairo for new talks with the mediators in the one-and-a-half-year-long war. Neither Israel nor Hamas is reported to have given a final answer to the proposal.
Israel, however, denies having received any proposal from Cairo. On Monday evening, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that Jerusalem has not been informed of any updated Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire.
59 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza since the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which marked the beginning of Israel's bloody war against the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli intelligence analyses, however, only 24 of the remaining hostages are believed to still be alive.
"Eliminate" Hamas
Exactly where Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands on the issue of a ceasefire is unclear. Since Israel broke a fragile, barely two-month-long ceasefire with Hamas in March, over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health authorities.
After Monday's meeting between Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump at the White House, Netanyahu stated that Israel is "working on an agreement" to free the hostages. He reiterated, however, his declared war goal of "eliminating" the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. Trump, on the other hand, said he was "looking at" getting a ceasefire agreement.
On Tuesday morning, the civil defense in Gaza reports that around 20 Palestinians were killed in overnight Israeli attacks.
