Riyadh and Jerusalem (CNN) — Hamas is considering a new framework proposed by Egypt that calls for the group to release up to 33 hostages held in Israel in exchange for a pause in hostilities in Gaza, an Israeli source familiar with the negotiations and a foreign diplomatic source told CNN.
The latest proposal, which Israel helped craft but does not fully agree with, is divided into two phases, the first of which calls for the release of between 20 and 33 hostages over several weeks in exchange for the pause. and the release of Palestinian prisoners. The second phase is what sources described as the “restoration of sustainable calm”, during which the remaining hostages, captive Israeli soldiers, and hostage corpses would be exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners.
The diplomatic source familiar with the talks said the reference to sustainable calm was “a way of agreeing to a permanent ceasefire without calling it that.”
After months of stalemate, an agreement by both sides would be an important step toward ending the war. If no deal is reached, Israel is likely to launch a full-scale ground invasion in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltered. Israel’s allies, including the United States, have warned against the operation because of the potential for large-scale civilian casualties.
Israel is awaiting a response from Hamas, which is scheduled to meet with Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Monday, according to the sources. An Israeli working delegation composed of Mossad, Shin Bet and Israeli military officials is expected to travel to Cairo on Tuesday, according to the Israeli source and another Israeli official.
A response from Yahya Sinwar, Hamas leader in Gaza, is expected in the coming days, possibly within the next 24 hours.
According to the Israeli source, the length of the first phase of the pause in hostilities will depend on the number of hostages released, with the latest framework providing for a one-day pause for each hostage, although this figure is expected to vary during in-depth negotiations. .
The release of 40 hostages for a six-week ceasefire had been the basis of negotiations for months, but Israel has agreed to accept fewer hostages in the first phase after Hamas lowered its offer to fewer than 20 people in early this month.
“Extraordinarily generous” proposal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that a ceasefire proposal has been presented to Hamas that is “extraordinarily generous on Israel’s part.”
“Right now, the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas,” he told the president of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Børge Brende, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. “They (Hamas) have to decide and they have to decide quickly,” he said. “I’m hoping they make the right decision.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the US-Arab Quint meeting with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Palestinian Self-Government, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on April 29. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who also spoke in Riyadh, expressed hope that Israel and Hamas would accept the proposal.
“There is a proposal on the table, which both sides must consider and accept, but the goal is certainly a permanent ceasefire and addressing humanitarian conditions,” Shoukry told a World Economic Forum panel in Riyadh on Monday.
He said he hopes that “the proposal has been taken into account” and that “we are waiting for a final decision.”
Israeli officials have expressed their willingness to negotiate the “restoration of sustainable calm” as part of a comprehensive agreement that effectively ends the war.
An Israeli source familiar with the negotiations said Egypt has proposed the parties agree to a one-year ceasefire as part of a comprehensive agreement that would see the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of all remaining hostages and the corpses of the deceased.
CNN has contacted the Egyptian government for comment.
Hamas has insisted that the deal must include a permanent ceasefire and Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza. Israel has until now maintained that its operation in Gaza will continue until Hamas is eradicated.
Israel also agreed to free movement of Palestinians to northern Gaza, according to the sources, a key Hamas demand that has held up negotiations in the past.
Operation in Rafah
One of the issues hanging over the negotiations is the increasingly likely possibility of an Israeli military offensive in Rafah, which Israeli officials have signaled for months but are now holding back, saying they want to give space to talks.
But Israeli sources have called the latest Egyptian effort to reach a deal the last chance to prevent that offensive.
“The only chance to stop Rafah is a deal,” said the Israeli source familiar with the negotiations.
The United States and other allies of Israel have warned that such an operation will not have their support if adequate measures are not taken to ensure the safety of civilians.
“Preparations to enter Rafah continue. In any agreement, if there is one, Israel will not give up the objectives of the war,” the Israeli official said.
Blinken reiterated in Riyadh that the US would not support a major military operation in Rafah “in the absence of a plan to ensure that civilians will not be harmed.”
“We have not yet seen a plan that guarantees the effective protection of civilians,” he said.
White House National Security Council communications adviser John Kirby said Sunday that Israel has told its American counterparts that it will not launch an invasion of Rafah until the Biden administration can share its concerns.
“I think we need to have a better understanding from the Israelis about what they want to do, in fact we have had several staff conversations with them, we intend to do more,” he said on ABC. “They have assured us that they will not enter Rafah until we have had the opportunity to really share our perspectives and our concerns with them.”
In a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, US President Joe Biden addressed the need to increase humanitarian aid and “reiterated his clear position” on a possible Israeli invasion of Rafah, according to a reading of the conversation conducted by the White House.
Increase in death toll
The death toll from Israeli bombings in Gaza continued to rise over the weekend.
Twenty people, including at least one baby and a toddler, were killed after an Israeli airstrike on Rafah, Gaza, overnight Monday, according to hospital officials.
And in Gaza City, seven Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in two separate Israeli airstrikes overnight, Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmmoud Basal told CNN. An Israeli airstrike hit a two-story house belonging to the Tartouri family in the port area west of Gaza City, killing 5 Palestinians and wounding several others, Basal said.
In another incident, two people were killed and several wounded when an Israeli airstrike hit the Hijazi family’s home in the Sabra neighborhood of central Gaza City, according to Basal.
— CNN’s Amy Cassidy, Abeer Salman, Kareem Khadder, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Mostafa Salem contributed to this report.
