Mediators revive plan for 60-day Gaza truce in effort to stop Israeli ground assault

Egyptian and Qatari mediators have resurrected a proposal for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 hostages in a last-minute effort to avert Israel's ground assault on Gaza city, sources have told The National.

The plan includes a US guarantee in writing that indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel on the withdrawal of troops from Gaza and a long-term ceasefire will start during the truce and continue until an agreement is reached.

“The Qataris and Egyptians have presented Israel and the United States with the plan and are now waiting for their response,” one source said. “Falling back on the old plan for a partial, rather than a comprehensive, deal is designed to head off Israel's assault on Gaza.”

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The sources said the plan provided for the release of 10 hostages, as well as the remains of at least 15 who died in captivity, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli jails being freed. An estimated 50 hostages are still held by Hamas, with 20 believed to be alive.

The latest proposal includes the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, where dozens have died of starvation or hunger-related diseases. The plan also involves Israeli troops moving away from populated areas.

The sources would not speculate on how Israel may respond to the latest proposal, which is largely based on a plan floated earlier this year by US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

News of the proposal broke as Israel prepared to send troops into Gaza city, where about one million people have sought shelter from the war.

Israel's military is on Sunday expected to provide residents with tents and other shelter equipment, before forcibly displacing them into an area in the south of the enclave. This comes days after Israel said it intended to seize control of Gaza city, a plan that has sparked international criticism.

The preparations for the offensive have been made as Israel says its war on Gaza will continue until Hamas is defeated and the group surrenders its weapons. Israel also wants a civilian administration to be put in place in the enclave, without the involvement of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority or Hamas. Israel has also insisted on retaining an overall security role in Gaza.

The sources said Hamas officials and the Egyptian and Qatari mediators have discussed plans for the group's military wing to store their arms under international supervision, rather than surrendering them.

In recent days, Gaza city residents have described more frequent air strikes. The enclave's civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said conditions were deteriorating rapidly in the city, with residents having little to no access to food and water.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israeli communities in October 2023, killing about 1,200 and taking 240 hostage. Israel's relentless response has killed more than 61,700 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.