CAIRO: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced Sunday a proposal for a two-day truce in the Israel-Hamas war that would include a hostage release and could pave the way for a “complete ceasefire”.
Sisi, whose government has been involved in mediation efforts to end the Gaza war, proposed a “two-day ceasefire” during which “four hostages would be exchanged for some prisoners in Israeli jails”, followed by more negotiations within 10 days aiming to secure “a complete ceasefire and the entry of aid” into the Gaza Strip, the president told a news conference in Cairo alongside his visiting Algerian counterpart.
International mediators seeking an end to the Gaza war, triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, have managed to secure a single, one-week truce in November.
Israel to send negotiators to new Gaza truce talks
Diplomacy since then has failed to produce another truce.
Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack, 97 are still held in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
Earlier this month, Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip had killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who Israeli and US officials as well as some analysts have said was an obstacle to reaching an accord.
Speaking in Cairo, Sisi said that “our brothers in the (Gaza) Strip face a very harsh siege” that has put them “on the brink of famine”.
“It is very important that aid enters as soon as possible” to alleviate the dire humanitarian needs in Gaza, Sisi added.
The Hamas attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
At least 42,924 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in the Israeli offensive on Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-ruled territory’s health ministry, which the UN considers reliable.
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