Hamas is examining a proposed truce agreement with Israel in Gaza comprising three phases and providing for a ceasefire of several weeks, a source within the Palestinian Islamist movement told AFP on Wednesday.
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Hamas said Tuesday it was considering a truce proposal made by mediators at a recent meeting in Paris, after an initial week-long ceasefire in late November during which 105 hostages were held in Gaza were exchanged for 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The first phase of this proposal calls for a six-week truce, with the possibility of extension. During this period, Israel will have to release between 200 to 300 Palestinian prisoners not held under a high security regime, in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages held captive in Gaza, indicated a source within Hamas close to Egyptian mediators and Qataris.
Only “sick women, children and men over 60” detained in Gaza will be able to be released, this source told AFP on condition of anonymity. 200 to 300 humanitarian aid trucks will also be able to enter the Gaza Strip every day.
“The first stage includes negotiations around the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the return of displaced people to the northern Gaza Strip,” said this source.
Hamas is demanding a total ceasefire as a prerequisite for any agreement, particularly on the release of Israeli hostages. Israel, for its part, refuses any cessation of fighting until the Islamist movement, which it considers a terrorist organization like the United States and the European Union, is eliminated.
If the initial ceasefire is respected, a second step aims to release “reservist soldiers” – any adult Israeli male likely to be called up as a reservist – held in Gaza in exchange for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners .
Non-reservist soldiers could also be released, according to this source, also in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
The final stage concerns the exchange of bodies of the deceased, and an agreement regarding the control of Gaza border crossings and the reconstruction of the territory.
On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza carried out an unprecedented attack on Israeli soil, which resulted in the death of 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
In total, some 250 people were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli authorities, 132 hostages remain held there, 29 of whom are believed to have died.
In response, Israel launched a vast military operation which left 26,900 dead, the vast majority of them civilians, according to the Palestinian movement’s Ministry of Health.