US proposes 60-day truce for Gaza but Hamas and Israel unmoved by the plan that’d unlock humanitarian aid flow

US proposes 60-day truce for Gaza but Hamas and Israel unmoved by the plan that’d unlock humanitarian aid flow

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A US plan for Gaza seen on Friday proposes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 28 Israeli hostages alive and dead in the first week and the release of 125 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians.

The plan, which says it is guaranteed by US President Donald Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, includes sending aid to Gaza as soon as Hamas signs off on the ceasefire agreement.

The plan stipulates that Hamas will release the last 30 hostages once a permanent ceasefire is in place.

The White House said on Thursday that Israel has agreed to the US ceasefire proposal. The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it was reviewing the plan and will respond on Friday or Saturday.

Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March.

Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely and be dismantled as a military and governing force and that all 58 hostages still held in Gaza must be returned for it to agree to end the war.

Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the devastating Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and left the enclave in ruins.

Palestinians are describing the start of a distribution by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation as chaotic and frustrating.

  • A Reuters report
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