The Palestinian militant group Hamas says that it supports the resumption of a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip thanks to a proposal advanced by mediators who would see five other hostages released in Israel in exchange for a 50-day truce.
Khalil Al-Hayyam, the most senior leader in Hamas outside Gaza, said the group had approved a project project sent by Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had also received the plan and submitted a “counter-proposition to mediators in full coordination with the United States”.
If they are agreed, the new limited ceasefire agreement could coincide with the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr which begins on Sunday.
On Saturday, Netanyahu’s office said that he had organized consultations on the ceasefire proposal for mediators.
He said the Israeli counter-offer had been agreed with the United States, but had not provided additional details. The United States has not publicly commented on the issue.
This comes as the Israeli forces launched a ground operation in Rafah and the continuous air strikes through the Gaza Strip after a cease-fire which had entered into force on January 19 ended earlier this month. The two parties had not been able to accept a second phase of the agreement after the first end.
During the first phase, Hamas had published 33 hostages. It is believed that the group supported by Iran still has 59 hostages, although not all of them are alive.
Hamas had previously insisted to stick to the initial agreement – with negotiations to start a second phase which envisaged the release of all the remaining hostages in exchange for a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces in Gaza and at the end of the war. But these negotiations have never started.
Israel and the United States rather proposed that the first phase of the ceasefire-which expired a month ago-be extended, without clear warranty that the war would end.
Israel accused Hamas of having rejected the extension and March 18 resumed its military strikes in Gaza.
More than 900 people across the territory were killed With Israeli air strikes since then, the Ministry of Health managed by Hamas said.
Meanwhile, relatives of the remaining hostages accused Netanyahu of having endangered by breaking the ceasefire.
One of these hostages, Elkana Bohbot, was shown in a new video published by Hamas in which he asks for his release.
The war was triggered when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and bringing 251 to Gaza as captives.
Israel responded with a massive military offensive, which killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, said the Ministry of Health managed by Gaza.
