Egypt Daily News – Two officials stated that Egypt has proposed a new plan to try to restore the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
An Egyptian official said that Hamas would release five living hostages, including an American-Israeli citizen, in exchange for Israel allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza and agreeing to a one-week ceasefire. Additionally, Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
A Hamas official said that the movement had “responded positively” to the proposal but did not provide further details. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to disclose details of the closed-door talks to the media.
Israel ended the existing ceasefire last week, launching a sudden wave of airstrikes that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians.
This came after Hamas rejected proposals supported by Israel to amend the agreement in order to release more hostages before negotiations for a permanent ceasefire, which were supposed to begin in early February.
Hamas stated that it would only release the remaining 59 hostages, of whom 24 are believed to be alive, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire, and an Israeli withdrawal.
