HERE’S WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE PROPOSED CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT

Thu 29 May 2025:

The US’s Mideast envoy has said he has “very good feelings” about the prospects of his proposal for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, providing a rare glimmer of hope for a halt to the carnage in Gaza.

But while Hamas says it has agreed to the framework of an agreement, hardliners within Israel’s cabinet have strongly opposed the proposal.

So what do we know about the proposed ceasefire agreement?

Hamas has said that it has reached an agreement with Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s envoy to the region, on a “general framework” for a ceasefire. The group said the deal would involve the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the flow of aid into the territory, and the transfer of power to an independent “professional committee” once the agreement was announced.

The proposed deal would see Hamas release 10 living Israeli captives, and an unspecified number of bodies of dead captives, in exchange for Israel’s release of a number of Palestinian prisoners, the group said.

While Witkoff has not released details of the proposal, sources have told Al Jazeera that the release would take place in two stages over the course of a 60-day ceasefire.

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The AP news agency reported, quoting a Hamas official and an Egyptian official, that more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners, including 100 serving long sentences for deadly attacks, would be released, and that Israeli forces would withdraw to positions held during the previous ceasefire, while both sides pledged to hold serious negotiations to reach a long-term deal.

Israel’s government, though, has said it will only agree to temporary halts to the fighting to secure the release of captives, while Israeli media has quoted officials saying the proposed agreement, as reported, was a non-starter.

Hardline government ministers have railed against the proposal, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying it would be “a lifeline to Hamas”.

“We are not leaving areas we’ve conquered,” he said.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that Netanyahu accepting such a deal would be crossing a “red line”.

Israeli opposition figures, though, have voiced support for the proposal, with opposition leader Yair Lapid urging Netanyahu to “immediately” accept the framework, pledging to give him political support for the deal if the prime minister’s hardline allies tried to “torpedo it”.

Benny Gantz, chairman of the opposition National Unity Party, has also called for Netanyahu to accept the proposal, saying he had “no excuse” not to.

Netanyahu is expected to hold a security meeting today to discuss the proposal, Israeli media is reporting.

-SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

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