Egypt proposed a two-day ceasefire agreement, negotiating the exchange of four Israeli hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The proposal was announced by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at a press conference this Sunday (27).
Sisi did not specify the number of Palestinian prisoners who could be released.
If the proposal is implemented, the two sides will have 10 days to negotiate a permanent ceasefire and bring humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, Sisi added. Officials in Gaza say the Israeli army is not allowing aid arriving in the enclave to be taken to parts of northern Gaza, where new military operations are being carried out.
THE CNN contacted the Israeli government.
Egypt has for months played a key role as a mediator in ceasefire negotiations with the United States and Qatar, and is in contact with some Hamas operatives.
Talks to restart hostage talks and a ceasefire in Gaza resumed in Qatar on Sunday, marking the first high-level talks in two months.
Dozens of hostages taken from Israel during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks are still detained in Gaza.
As of April, more than 9,500 Palestinians were detained in Israeli prisons, including more than 3,500 without charges, according to the Addameer Association for the Support of Prisoners and Human Rights, a Palestinian NGO. This number does not include those detained in Gaza, the Organization highlighted.
Understand the conflict in the Gaza Strip
Israel has carried out intense airstrikes in the Gaza Strip since last year, after Hamas invaded the country and killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli counts. Furthermore, the radical group holds dozens of hostages. The Israeli operation killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas.
Hamas does not recognize Israel as a state and claims Israeli territory for Palestine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly promised to destroy Hamas’ military capabilities and recover people detained in Gaza.
In addition to the air offensive, the Israeli Army carries out land incursions into Palestinian territory. This caused much of Gaza’s population to be displaced.
The UN and several humanitarian institutions have warned of a catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, with a lack of food, medicine and the spread of diseases.
About a year into the conflict, the Israeli population took to the streets in protests against Netanyahu, accusing the prime minister of failing to reach a ceasefire agreement so the hostages could be released.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by the Israeli Army on October 16, in the city of Rafah.
This content was originally published in Egypt proposes two-day ceasefire in Gaza on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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