The US has given Israel and Hamas a new proposal for a temporary ceasefire deal for Gaza amid Israel’s total blockade on aid and all other goods entering the Strip, Axios reported on Thursday.
The proposal, put forward by US envoy Steve Witkoff, would involve a ceasefire meant to get through Ramadan and Passover, which ends on April 20, and the resumption of aid deliveries into Gaza.
Under the proposal, Hamas would release at least five live hostages and the remains of nine deceased hostages on the first day of the ceasefire. During the truce, negotiations on a permanent deal would be held, and if an agreement were reached, Hamas would release the remaining hostages on the last day of the ceasefire.
According to Al Jazeera, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem rejected the idea of an alternative ceasefire deal, saying the group is committed to “what has already been agreed upon.”
Hamas has maintained that it wants the full implementation of the original ceasefire deal that was reached in January, which Israel has violated by imposing the total siege and refusing to enter negotiations on the second phase of the deal, which was supposed to involve an Israeli withdrawal and permanent truce. According to the Axios report, Hamas has yet to respond to the new US proposal.
In the meantime, the situation in Gaza is getting worse for the civilians living under the siege. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that aid groups on the ground in Gaza are being forced to ration food and that there would be “more dire consequences on the ground” as long as the Israeli blockade continues.
“Our partners report having to reduce food rations to prioritize assistance for as many vulnerable people as possible,” Dujarric said, according to Al Jazeera. “The food security situation could sharply deteriorate unless the flow of aid into Gaza resumes as quickly as possible.”
Israel has received widespread condemnation for blocking the entry of all goods into Gaza and cutting off electricity from the territory, but the US backed the move, which amounts to the collective punishment of the civilian population.
