Health officials said Israel has killed nearly 700 Palestinians since it resumed its attacks, including at least 400 women and children [Getty]
Egypt has put forward a new proposal aimed at restoring the Gaza ceasefire deal, security sources told Reuters on Monday, as Palestinian health authorities said Israeli strikes have killed at least 65 people in the enclave in the past 24 hours.
The proposal, made last week, follows an escalation in violence after Israel resumed air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave last Tuesday, effectively ending a two-month period of relative calm.
Health officials said Israel has killed nearly 700 Palestinians since it resumed its attacks, including at least 400 women and children.
Save the Children said more than 270 children were killed in the week since Israel resumed attacking Gaza, marking some of the “deadliest days for children since the war began”.
The Egyptian plan calls for Hamas to release five Israeli hostages each week, with Israel implementing the second phase of the ceasefire after the first week, two security sources said.
Hamas is still holding 59 captives, with 24 of them thought to be still alive.
Both the US and Hamas agreed to the proposal, the security sources said, but Israel has not yet responded.
A Hamas official didn’t confirm the proposed offer, but told Reuters that “several proposals are being discussed with the mediators to bridge the gap and to resume negotiations to reach common ground that would pave the way to start the second phase of the agreement.”
Timetable for withdrawal
The sources said the Egyptian proposal also includes a timeline for Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza, backed by US guarantees, in exchange for the captives’ release.
Hamas has accused Israel of breaking the terms of the January ceasefire agreement but has said it was willing to negotiate a truce and was studying proposals from US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Israel says it resumed its military operations to force Hamas to release the remaining hostages it is holding in Gaza.
Palestinian officials on Sunday put the death toll from nearly 18 months of conflict at over 50,000. Gaza’s Media Office updated its death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of Palestinians missing under the rubble were presumed dead.
In Rafah, the local municipality said thousands of people were stuck inside the Tel Al-Sultan area, where the Israeli military sent some of its forces, with families trapped among the ruins, with no water, food, or medicine.
The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said 50,000 residents remained cornered in Rafah.
The Israeli military said troops had besieged Tel Al-Sultan to dismantle alleged “terror infrastructure sites and eliminate terrorists in the area”.
UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA said 124,000 people have been displaced in Gaza in recent days.
“Families carry what little they have with no shelter, no safety, and nowhere left to go. The Israeli authorities have cut off all aid. Food is scarce and prices are soaring. This is a humanitarian catastrophe. The siege must end,” it said on X.
The latest Egypt proposal comes as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) continues to investigate genocide allegations and war crimes charges against Israel over its conduct in Gaza.
(Reuters)
