2024-01-23 02:36:24
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. RONEN ZVULUN / REUTERS
According to Axios, this plan would only provide for a redeployment of Israeli soldiers outside the main cities of Gaza, and the gradual return of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the fighting.
Israel would have offered Hamas, via the mediation of Qatar and Egypt, a two-month pause in the fighting and raids in Gaza in exchange for the release of all the hostages, the American site Axios understands. This proposal would not imply the end of the war in Gaza, but a second truce following that of a week which allowed the release of a hundred hostages, transported to Gaza during the unprecedented attack of October 7 , in exchange for at least 240 Palestinian prisoners imprisoned in Israel. According to Israeli authorities, under pressure from families to accept a release agreement, 132 hostages are still in the Gaza Strip, of whom 28 are believed to have died.
Israel’s proposal would provide for the return to Israel of living hostages and remains in several phases, the first of which would include women and men aged over 60, according to Axios. This would be followed by female soldiers, men aged under 60 but not in the military, male Israeli soldiers, and finally the remains of hostages. Under the plan, Israel and Hamas were to agree in advance on the number of Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for each hostage according to their category, then negotiate the name of each Palestinian, Axios continues.
A release of hostages over 90 days
This plan would not provide for the end of the Israel-Hamas war or even a longer-term political solution, but a redeployment of Israeli soldiers outside the main towns of Gaza, and the gradual return of hundreds of thousands of people displaced from the north to southern Gaza in an attempt to escape the violence. The publication of this Axios article comes as US President Joe Biden’s top adviser for the Middle East, Brett McGurk, visits Egypt and Qatar this week.
The Wall Street Journal had argued on Sunday that the United States, Egypt and Qatar were trying to convince Israel and Hamas to agree on the release of the hostages over a period of 90 days in exchange in particular for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
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