Hamas negotiators in Cairo have received a new proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, a Palestinian official said Monday, with the prime minister of key mediator Qatar also in Egypt to push for a truce.
Efforts by mediators Egypt and Qatar, along with the United States, have so far failed to secure a lasting ceasefire in the ongoing war, which over more than 22 months has created a dire humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said that the latest proposal from mediators “is a framework agreement to launch negotiations on a permanent ceasefire”, calling for an initial 60-day truce and hostage release in two batches.
The official said that “Hamas will hold internal consultations among its leadership” and with leaders of other Palestinian factions to review the text.
A source from Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant faction that has fought alongside Hamas in Gaza, told AFP that the plan involved a “ceasefire agreement lasting 60 days, during which 10 Israeli hostages would be released alive, along with a number of bodies”.
