On Monday, Israel will send a high-ranking delegation to Qatar for mediated talks with Hamas designed to discuss a six-week Gaza truce with the aim of freeing 40 hostages, according to an Israeli official.
This stage of the negotiations could take at least two weeks, according to an official. The official cited difficulties that Hamas' foreign delegates may have in communicating with the group in the besieged enclave after more than five months of war.
This came after a Hamas representative, stated that they have proposed a new six-week truce in Gaza. The proposal includes an exchange of several Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners. The deal would involve a six-week ceasefire and a prisoner exchange, according to the Hamas official. They added that they would like the ceasefire to lead to a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a permanent ceasefire. The proposed truce would require Gaza militants to release about 40 hostages who were taken during the October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza.
He also said that between 20 and 50 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails would be released per hostage -- down from a previous proposal of a roughly 100-to-one ratio, according to a Hamas source in late February.
the official added that under the new proposal, the initial exchange could include women, children, elderly and ill hostages.
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