Haniyeh Says Hamas is Studying Three-Stage Ceasefire Proposal, Netanyahu Says Israel is Reluctant to Compromise

Israeli military land operations in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - The Palestinian militant group Hamas said Tuesday that it had received and would study a new proposal for a ceasefire and release of hostages in Gaza, submitted by mediators after talks with Israel.

A senior Hamas official told Reuters, as quoted on January 31, that the proposal involved a three-stage ceasefire, in which the group would first release the remaining civilians among the hostages they captured on October 7, then the soldiers, and finally the dead hostage.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say how long the stages would last or what was expected to happen after the final stage.

But this is the first time since the collapse of a brief ceasefire so far, in late November, that details of new proposals being considered by both sides have been released.

The ceasefire proposal follows talks in Paris involving intelligence chiefs from Israel, the United States, and Egypt, with the Qatari Prime Minister.

In a sign of the seriousness of the talks, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said he would go to Cairo to discuss them.

Haniyeh said he was studying the ceasefire proposal. Hamas' priority is to end the Israeli offensive and secure a full troop withdrawal, he said.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his vow not to withdraw troops from Gaza until "total victory".

"We will not compromise if we do not achieve total victory," he said.

"That means eliminating Hamas, returning all our hostages, and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel," he continued.

Until then, no Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons, says PM Netanyahu.

In response, Sami Abu Zuhri, another senior Hamas official, said PM Netanyahu's comments "proved he was not interested in the success of the Paris meeting and did not care about the lives of the (Israeli) hostages".