Stalled talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war were expected to resume by yesterday afternoon at the earliest in Qatar, Egyptian officials said.
The talks would mark the first time Israeli officials and Hamas leaders both join the indirect negotiations since the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
International mediators had hoped to secure a six-week truce before Ramadan started earlier this week, but Hamas refused any deal that would not lead to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, a demand Israel rejected.
Photo: Reuters
However, both sides have made moves in the past few days aimed at getting the talks, which never fully broke off, back on track.
Hamas gave mediators a new proposal for a three-stage plan that would end the fighting, said two Egyptian officials, one who is involved in the talks and a second who was briefed on them.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal the contents of the sensitive discussions.
The first stage would be a six-week ceasefire that would see the release of 35 hostages — women, those who are ill and older people — held by militants in Gaza in exchange for 350 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Hamas would also release at least five female soldiers in exchange for 50 prisoners, including some serving long sentences on terror charges, for each soldier.
Israeli forces would withdraw from two main roads in Gaza, let displaced Palestinians return to northern Gaza, which has been devastated by the fighting, and allow the free flow of aid to the area, the officials said.
Nearly one in three children under the age of two in the isolated north have acute malnutrition, the United Nations Children’s Fund has said.
In the second phase, the two sides would declare a permanent ceasefire and Hamas would free the remaining Israeli soldiers held hostage in exchange for more prisoners, the officials said.
In the third phase, Hamas would hand over the bodies it is holding in exchange for Israel lifting the blockade of Gaza and allowing reconstruction to start, they said.
Talks were expected to resume yesterday afternoon, but they could get pushed to today, the Egyptian officials said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the proposal “unrealistic,” but agreed to send Israeli negotiators to Qatar.
Meanwhile, thousands of people on Saturday night demonstrated in Tel Aviv to show their impatience with Netanyahu’s government and demand a deal to free hostages.
Some expressed support for US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s sharp criticism of Netanyahu’s handling of the war and his call for a new election.
“I think that we are in a situation where they are completely right, that we have a war that is continuing well beyond what is necessary,” protester Yehuda Halper said.
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