Hamas said the initial release of Israelis would include women, children, elderly, and ill hostages in exchange for the release of 700-1000 Palestinian prisoners, according to the proposal. The release of Israeli “female recruits” is included.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the new Hamas position was based on “unrealistic demands”.
A displaced Palestinian woman weeps while walking through a street amid the rubble of houses destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Hamad area, west of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 14, 2024. — AFP
According to the latest proposal, Hamas said it would agree on a date for a permanent ceasefire after the initial exchange of hostages and prisoners, and that a deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza would be agreed upon after the first stage. The group said all detainees from both sides would be released in a second stage of the plan.
Late on Thursday, Hamas said it presented to mediators a comprehensive vision of a truce based on stopping what it calls Israeli aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, providing relief and aid, the return of displaced Gazans to their homes, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
In February, Hamas received a draft proposal from Gaza truce talks in Paris which included a 40-day pause in all military operations and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages at a ratio of 10 to one — a similar ratio to the new ceasefire proposal. Israel also rejected that draft proposal.
The US finalised its draft resolution for the UN Security Council on a truce deal between Israel and Hamas, the Reuters news agency reports, in a move likely to serve as the final step before a vote is held.
A draft seen by Reuters suggests the UNSC adopt wording saying it, “unequivocally supports international diplomatic efforts to establish an immediate and sustained ceasefire as part of a deal that releases the hostages, and that allows the basis for a more durable peace to alleviate humanitarian suffering”.
It is not clear when the US will hold a vote to adopt the resolution. To pass, it will require at least nine votes in favour and no objections from veto-wielding countries the US, France, Britain, Russia and China.
Health ministry says Israeli fire kills 20 Gazans waiting for aid
Gaza’s health ministry said that Israeli fire killed 20 people and wounded 155 waiting to receive desperately needed aid in the besieged territory, but Israel said the reports were “erroneous”, AFP reports.
The health ministry said in a statement that citizens had gathered at a roundabout in Gaza City in the north when they were fired upon by Israeli forces, revising upward an initial toll of 11 killed and 100 wounded.
Mohammed Ghurab, director of emergency services at a hospital in northern Gaza, told AFP there were “direct shots by the occupation forces” on people who had gathered at the roundabout to wait for a food truck.
An AFP journalist on the scene saw several bodies and people who had been shot.
The Israeli military denied it had opened fire on the crowd of Gazans waiting for aid.
“Press reports that Israeli forces attacked dozens of Gazans at an aid distribution point are erroneous,” it said in a brief statement, adding that it was “analyzing the incident seriously”.
