May 30 (Reuters) – Gaza’s US plan seen by Reuters on Friday proposes to announce the release of 60-day ceasefire and 28 Israeli hostages in the first week in exchange for the ruins of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and 180 Dead Palestinians.
The document, which says the plan is guaranteed by US President Donald Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, includes sending humanitarian assistance to Gaza as soon as Hamas registers for the ceasefire agreement.
This aid will be delivered through the United Nations, Red Crescent and other agreed channels.
On Thursday, the White House said Israel agreed to a US ceasefire proposal.
According to Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told hostage families held in Gaza that Israel has accepted the deal presented by President Trump’s Middle Eastern envoy Steve Witkov.
Hamas, a Palestinian extremist group, told Reuters it was reviewing its plans and would respond on Friday or Saturday.
The US plan stipulates that Hamas will release 30 of the remaining 58 Israeli hostages after a permanent ceasefire is in place. Israel will also cease all military operations in Gaza as soon as the truce comes into effect, it indicates.
The Israeli army will also redeploy its troops in stages.
The deep differences between Hamas and Israel hampered previous attempts to recover from the ceasefire that broke down in March.
Israel claims that Hamas will be completely disarmed, dismantled as a force of military and governance, and will return all 58 hostages still held in Gaza before they agree to end the war.
Hamas rejects the request to abandon its weapons, saying that Israel must pull its troops from Gaza and commit to ending the war.
Israel saw Israel killed about 1,200 people and took 251 Israelis hostages in Gaza, Israel launched its campaign in Gaza on October 7, 2023 in response to the Hamas attack in the south.
The subsequent Israeli military campaign killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials said, leaving the enclave in abandoned.
Mounting pressure
Israel is increasing international pressure, and many European countries are usually bound by criticizing the open demand for ending wars and great relief efforts.
Witkoff told reporters Wednesday that Washington is approaching both sides of the conflict “send a new term sheet” about the ceasefire.
“I have very good feelings about reaching a long-term resolution, a temporary ceasefire, a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution, a peaceful resolution,” Witkov said at the time.
According to the plan, the 60-day ceasefire may be extended if negotiations for a permanent ceasefire do not end within the set period.
Hamas official Sami Abu Zuri said on Thursday that the terms of the proposal reiterate Israeli position and do not include a commitment to end the war, withdrawing Israeli forces or granting aid as Hamas requested.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed and Israel-backed private group, expanded its aid distribution to Gaza’s third site on Thursday.
The group, which has been criticized as inadequate and flawed by the United Nations and other aid groups, launched its operations in Gaza this week. There, the UN said 2 million people were at risk of hunger after Israel’s 11-week lockdown entered the enclave.
The turbulent scene on Tuesday ruined the launch as thousands of Palestinians rushed to distribution points and forced private security contractors to retreat.
The chaotic start of the operation puts international pressure on Israel to stop the fight in Gaza and stop it. GHF has served around 1.8 million meals so far, and plans to open more sites in the coming weeks.
(Reporting and writing by Samia Nakhoul and Hatem Maher, Additional Reports by Washington and the Cairo Team, Editing by Michael Perry and Clarence Fernandez)
