BEIRUT – Hamas published a copy of the ceasefire and hostage-release proposal that the armed group said it had agreed to on Monday.
The framework presented by Qatar and Egypt aims to stop the seven-month-long war in Gaza. However, it is unclear whether Israel will agree to the terms.
The proposal stipulates a gradual release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza along with a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire Strip and ending with a “sustainable calm” or “permanent cessation of military and hostile operations.”
Israel said earlier that it would not agree to a complete withdrawal of its forces or a permanent ceasefire as part of a hostage release deal.
The first phase will last 42 days and will include a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the release of approximately 33 hostages held in the Strip, including the remaining Israeli women – civilians and soldiers – as well as children and the elderly. And people who are sick.
Thirty Palestinian prisoners held in Israel will be released for every Israeli civilian hostage and 50 for every female soldier.
Displaced Palestinians in Gaza will be allowed to return to their original neighborhoods during that period.
After that, the two sides will negotiate the terms of the next phase, under which the remaining civilian men and soldiers will be released, while Israeli forces will withdraw from the rest of the Gaza Strip. This stage will be conditional on achieving “sustainable calm.”
The final stage will include the exchange of the bodies of the hostages who died in captivity and the start of the reconstruction plan for the enclave, which will take place over a period of three to five years “under the supervision of a number of countries and organizations, including: Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations.”
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