Hamas Proposes Three-Stage Ceasefire: Report

Hamas, Gaza's governing body, has put forward a ceasefire proposal aiming to end the ongoing war in the region. The proposal comes in response to a plan presented by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, with support from the United States and Israel.

According to a draft document obtained by Reuters, the Hamas ceasefire plan outlines three phases, each lasting 45 days. Here are the three stages:

Phase 1: During the first 45 days, all Israeli female captives, males under the age of 19, old people, and the sick would be released in exchange for Palestinian women and children being released from Israeli imprisonment.

Phase 2: The remaining male hostages would be released during the second phase.

Phase 3: The bodies and remains of those killed in fighting would be exchanged in the third phase. By the end of the third phase, Hamas expects the sides to have reached an agreement on the end of the war.

Additionally, Hamas seeks the release of 1,500 prisoners, with a third of them selected from a list of Palestinians serving life sentences in Israeli jails. The proposed ceasefire plan also includes provisions to increase the flow of food and aid to Gaza's civilian population, which has been facing severe shortages and hunger.

The Gaza war was triggered by a cross-border attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel on October 7, in which about 1,300 people were killed and about 250 others were taken hostage.

Since October 7, Israel's attacks on Gaza have killed over 27,500 people and injured over 66,500. Since the war began, almost 300 people have been killed per day, excluding the seven-day ceasefire. During a week-long ceasefire in late November, 105 Israeli and foreign hostages were released in return for 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.