Fresh doubt on US-backed 60-day truce proposal, Israel demands release of hostages after Hamas nod

Israel has said that it is studying Hamas’ response to a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, but has demanded the release of all the hostages still held in the region, instead of half of them as proposed in the draft deal.

Efforts to pause the fighting gained new momentum over the past week after Israel announced plans for a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City at the heart of the Palestinian enclave.

While Israel has not explicitly rejected the ceasefire, its officials are steadfast on the demand for all the hostages to be released for the war to end in Gaza.

What does the proposal entail?

Mediators Egypt and Qatar have been pushing proposals to restart indirect talks between the sides on a US-backed ceasefire plan.

The proposals include the release of 200 Palestinian convicts jailed in Israel and an unspecified number of imprisoned women and minors, in return for 10 living and 18 deceased hostages from Gaza, according to a Hamas official.

Two Egyptian security sources confirmed the details to Reuters and added that Hamas has requested the release of hundreds of Gaza detainees as well.

‘Not interested in partial deals’

However, Israel is not okay with the terms of the deal. While Qatar says that the new deal is “almost identical” to a US proposal Israel had previously accepted, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told the BBC that the Netanyahu government is not interested in “partial deals.”

“Things have changed now. The prime minister has laid out a plan for the future of Gaza,” he said.

Similarly, an Israeli political source told Reuters, “Israel’s policy is consistent and has not changed. Israel demands the release of all 50 hostages in accordance with the principles established by the cabinet for ending the war. We are in the final decisive stage of Hamas and will not leave any hostages behind.”

‘Ball’s in Israel’s court’

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told NBC that the proposed deal was made by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff. He said that the ceasefire deal, if agreed,  would allow for “the flow of humanitarian and medical aid into Gaza as soon as possible to address the ongoing starvation there.”

“The ball is now in Israel’s court. We would like a positive response from them as soon as possible in order to deal with the disastrous situation in Gaza, especially the starvation and the killing of civilians,” Abdelatty added.

In a statement on Monday, Hamas said it, along with other Palestinian factions, had agreed to proposals presented by Egyptian and Qatari mediators.