Cairo [Egypt], March 25: Egypt has floated a new proposal aimed at restoring the Gaza ceasefire deal, security sources told Reuters on Monday, as Palestinian health authorities said Israeli strikes had killed at least 65 people in the enclave in the past 24 hours.
The proposal, made last week, follows an escalation in violence after Israel resumed air and ground operations against Hamas on March 18, effectively ending a two-month period of relative calm after 15 months of war.
Gaza health officials said Israeli airstrikes and shelling have killed nearly 700 Palestinians since then, including at least 400 women and children. The Egyptian plan calls for Hamas to release five Israeli hostages each week, with Israel implementing the second phase of the ceasefire after the first week, two security sources said.
Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, with 24 of them thought to be still alive, among the more than 250 it seized in its October 7, 2023 cross-border attack on Israel. Most of the rest have been freed in periodic negotiated exchanges. Both the US and Hamas have agreed to the proposal, the security sources said, but Israel has not yet responded. A Hamas official did not confirm the proposed offer, but told Reuters that "several proposals are being discussed with the mediators. (Agencies)
Source: Qatar Tribune
