Hamas has received a draft proposal from Gaza truce talks in Paris for a pause in military operations and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages, a senior source close to the talks said on Tuesday.
Israel agrees to the entry of heavy machinery and equipment to remove rubble and assist with other humanitarian purposes © Mena Today
Hamas has received a draft proposal from Gaza truce talks in Paris for a pause in military operations and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages, a senior source close to the talks said on Tuesday.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Israel has agreed to halt military activities in Gaza for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as the Islamist group studied the draft proposal.
Based on a statement provided to Reuters by the source, the draft proposal for the first stage of the deal would last 40 days and the prisoner-hostage exchange would be at an overall ratio of 10 to one.
Also included in the proposal:
* Both parties stop their military operations completely.
* Aerial reconnaissance operations over Gaza will stop for eight hours a day.
* All Israeli hostages, including women, children under 19 years of age, the elderly aged 50 years and above, and the sick, must be released in exchange for a specific number of Palestinian prisoners according to the numbers listed below.
* In exchange for the 40 hostages listed under the humanitarian category, approximately 400 Palestinian prisoners will be released, according to the ratio of 10 prisoners to one hostage.
* Gradual return of all displaced civilians - except men of military service age - to the northern Gaza Strip.
* After commencing the first phase, Israel will reposition its forces away from densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip.
* Commitment to bring in 500 trucks per day of humanitarian aid.
* Commitment to providing 200,000 tents and 60,000 caravans.
* Allowing the rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries in Gaza, including immediately allowing the entry of necessary equipment and providing shipments of fuel for these purposes, according to quantities to be agreed upon.
* Israel agrees to the entry of heavy machinery and equipment to remove rubble and assist with other humanitarian purposes, with the provision of fuel shipments necessary for these purposes, according to quantities to be agreed upon, provided that they increase over time. Hamas pledges not to use these machines and equipment to threaten Israel.
* It is understood that the arrangements agreed in the first phase will not apply to the second phase, which will be subject to subsequent separate negotiations.
Reporting by Samia Nakhoul
An apparent drone attack - claimed by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia - hit central Tel Aviv in the early hours of Friday, killing one man and slightly wounding four others, the Israeli military and emergency services said.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told his U.S. counterpart that military operations in the Gaza Strip have created conditions that would enable a hostage deal to be reached, Gallant's office said on Wednesday.
A meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the Middle East was briefly interrupted on Wednesday when two protesters stood with signs and yelled for the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.