Egypt Daily News – A senior Palestinian official familiar with the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas told the BBC that Qatari and Egyptian mediators have proposed a new framework to end the war in Gaza. Meanwhile, a Hamas official confirmed that a delegation from the movement has left Doha and is heading to Cairo to discuss “new ideas” for de-escalation.
According to the official, the plan includes a truce lasting between five and seven years, the release of all Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, an official end to the war, and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The plan includes a truce lasting up to 7 year and Hamas is ready to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to any Palestinian entity that is agreed upon.
He added that this entity could be the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank or a newly formed administrative body. Hamas will be represented in the Cairo consultations by the head of its leadership council, Mohammed Darwish, and its chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya.
A Hamas official, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Agence France-Presse that the delegation “will hold meetings with Egyptian officials to discuss new ideas for reaching a ceasefire.” He noted that the delegation includes “Khalil al-Hayya, head of the negotiating team, and several leaders.”
Israel has not issued any comment on the proposed plan put forward by the mediators.
While it is still too early to assess the chances of the plan’s success, the Palestinian official described the current mediation efforts as serious and said that Hamas has shown “unprecedented flexibility” toward them.
The last ceasefire agreement collapsed a month ago when Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza.
A few days ago, the movement rejected an Israeli proposal that included a demand for the group to disarm in exchange for a six-week truce.
On Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he would not end the war before eliminating Hamas and securing the return of all hostages. Hamas has demanded that Israel commit to ending the war before any hostage release.
