Responding To Qatar-Egypt: Hamas Proposes 135-Day Ceasefire, Israel Withdraws Its Troops From Gaza

JAKARTA - The militant group Hamas proposed a gradual ceasefire for four and a half months, in which all hostages will be released, with Israel pulling all its troops from Gaza, a move that is expected to accelerate the end of the conflict.

The militant group's proposal was in response to offers sent last week by Qatar and Egypt mediators, the biggest diplomatic push to stop fighting, greeted with hope and relief in the Gaza Strip.

There has been no response from Israel, which said it would not withdraw its troops out of Gaza until Hamas found it.

According to the draft document seen by Reuters, Hamas' proposal covers three ceasefire phases, each lasting 45 days. They will exchange the remaining Israeli hostages they arrested on October 7 for Palestinian prisoners.

The reconstruction of Gaza will begin, Israeli forces will be fully withdrawn, and bodies and bodies will be exchanged.

A source close to the negotiations said Hamas' proposal did not require a permanent ceasefire guarantee from the start, but an end to the war had to be agreed during the ceasefire before the last hostages were released.

According to the document, during the first 45-day phase, all Israeli female hostages, men under 19 years and the elderly and sick will be released, in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons. Israel will also withdraw its troops from densely populated areas during the first phase.

The second phase of implementation will not begin until both sides resolve "indirect talks regarding the requirements needed to end joint military operations and calm down".

The second phase will include the release of the remaining male hostages and "dispersal of Israeli troops outside the borders of the entire Gaza Strip".

Bodies and bodies will be exchanged in the third phase. The ceasefire will also increase the flow of food and other aid to desperate Gaza civilians, who face hunger and lack of supplies of staples.

"People are optimistic, at the same time pray that this hope turns into a real deal that will end the war," said Yamen Hamad, father of four, who lives at a UN school in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip..

"People are waiting for news about the ceasefire, they are a little hoping that even though the bombing continues," he told the messaging app.