The Palestinian militant group Hamas on Wednesday, February 7, proposed a 135-day ceasefire agreement in three stages to end the ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip.
This comes in response to a proposal conveyed on January 28 in French cap[ital Paris by Qatari and Egyptian mediators and which has the support of the United States (US) and Israel.
Reuters reported citing close source that the each stage of the ceasefire lasts 45 days and includes agreement exchange of prisoners, reconstruction of Gaza, ending the siege and the exchange of bodies and remains.
It is reported that the during the initial stage, Israeli women, minors, and the elderly would be released in exchange for 1,500 Palestinian women and children’s release from Israeli jails.
The second stage will see the release of remaining male hostages, followed by the exchange of any remaining bodies and remains in the third stage.
During the ceasefire, daily delivery of food and humanitarian aid to Gaza by at least 500 trucks. It would also included a temporary cessation of military operations and aerial reconnaisance, and allowing the United Nations and its agencies to provide humanitarian services and establish housing camps.
In addition to the entry of at least 60,000 temporary homes and 200,000 shelter tents into the Strip.
On Tuesday, February 6, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, in a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said that Hamas has given a “generally positive” response to a proposed truce deal with Israel, Al Jazeera reported.
Since October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, resulting in 27,585 deaths and over 66,400 injured, causing massive infrastructure destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.
On November 21, Israel and Hamas reached the first truce in the war, agreeing to cease fighting for four days, exchange hostages in Gaza for Israeli prisoners, and allow more aid entry.
At least 105 hostages and 240 Palestinian prisoners were released, but the ceasefire collapsed and the war resumed on December 1.
