Israel ‘could agree to a ceasefire with Hamas’ for a week in exchange for 40 hostages as the terror group continues to hold 129 people captive
Israel has signalled that it is ready for a week-long truce with Hamas in exchange for around 40 hostages, Israeli media reported last night.
It follows last month’s week-long ceasefire in Gaza mediated by Qatar, in which more than 100 female and child hostages were freed.
There are still Israeli 129 hostages being held in the territory after Hamas’s October 7 terror attacks. That figure includes the bodies of at least 21 hostages murdered in captivity, according to Israel.
It comes as the US has indicated that it will stand by Israel ahead of a second UN Security Council vote calling for a ceasefire. The Israel Defence Forces continued to bombard the territory yesterday with at least 28 Palestinians killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Ahead of today’s delayed vote, diplomats had been struggling to broker a further pause to free hostages and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israel has signalled that it is ready for a week-long truce with Hamas in exchange for around 40 hostages (Pictured: IDF soldiers on the Gaza border on Monday)
There are still Israeli 129 hostages being held in the territory after Hamas’s October 7 terror attacks (Pictured: The Gaza Strip on Tuesday)
US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said protecting Palestinian civilians is ‘both a moral duty and a strategic imperative’ after meeting Israeli officials on Monday.
Meanwhile, Ismail Haniyeh, the most senior political leader of Hamas, is set to travel to Egypt today for talks on a ceasefire and the prisoner exchange, news agency AFP said last night.
He will head a ‘high-level’ delegation to Cairo, where he will hold talks with Egypt’s intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel.
British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron will also head to Jordan and Egypt this week to call for a ‘sustainable truce’.
Israeli officials are also considering building a ‘humanitarian compound’ in northern Gaza to house displaced Palestinian civilians, US news channel CNN has reported.
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