Israeli official: Egypt has proposed hostage deal with extended truce, not end to war
Official says Israel open to discussing outline that has been handed to Hamas, in which ‘humanitarian’ category of hostages would be released, reportedly over 60 days
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
A recent Egyptian hostage deal proposal passed on to Hamas offered an extended ceasefire during which hostages in the “humanitarian” category would be released, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Thursday, as mediators launched a flurry of activity to reach an agreement to end the 14-month war.
The updated hostage deal proposal given to Hamas by Egypt was not an Israeli offer as previously reported by the Axios news site, the official said, but was instead a proposal made by Cairo that Israel is fully open to discussing.
The official noted that the proposal is not for an end to the war, but an extended ceasefire that will allow the elderly, children, women, ill and badly wounded hostages to be released. The number of living hostages in these groups is today understood to be fewer than the 33 that was previously discussed in talks over past months.
Hamas still has not indicated whether it is willing to discuss the proposal, but if it is, Israel will send a delegation to Cairo to negotiate, the official said.
Hamas has until now repeatedly refused agreements that do not include a permanent end to the war and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops. Hebrew media reports said Thursday that Hamas may be willing to show flexibility on these demands, though it has given no publication indication of this.
Israel is interested in Egypt remaining at the center of the talks, said the official, adding that Qatar remains updated behind the scenes and will want to take full part in mediation if there is progress. “Turkey has no role,” the official said, contradicting earlier reports.
Qatar announced last month it was suspending its role until the two parties show “willingness and seriousness” to resume talks. Steve Witkoff, US President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, traveled to Qatar and Israel this week in order to kickstart efforts, while a source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Times of Israel that Doha had quietly resumed its role as a mediator.
A US official said Biden’s aides were aware of Witkoff’s meetings and understood that Witkoff supports a Gaza deal along the lines the administration has been pursuing, but did not see a need to coordinate with him.
The Israeli official who spoke to The Times of Israel noted that Trump’s threat this week to punish those responsible if the hostages aren’t released before his inauguration should have a positive effect on attempts to reach a deal: “Hamas takes it seriously, especially now that they are isolated in the campaign.”
Israel is speaking to both the Biden administration and the Trump team about the hostages, said the official, but won’t say whether Trump’s Truth Social post was coordinated with Israel. “They hear our claims, and we see eye to eye with them on the need to apply pressure on Hamas,” was all the official would offer.
Israel has begun applying more military pressure on Hamas in Gaza in recent days, the official said.
War was sparked on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists swarmed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and abducting 251.
First phase of proposal reportedly to last 60 days
The recent proposal handed to Hamas is similar to the phased plan under discussion in August but now is focused primarily on getting the first phase done. Hamas has also shown a new openness to a partial deal, two Israeli officials told Axios Wednesday.
In the updated proposal, Israel is now willing to entertain the option of a ceasefire that would last up to 60 days, whereas previously the first stage was only 42 days. During the ceasefire, Axios reported, living female hostages, all living men over 50, and those with serious medical conditions would be released. Israel had been demanding 33 living hostages from these groups, but believes there are not that many alive in those categories anymore.
Israel is still willing to release hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners, including some serving life sentences for deadly terror attacks.
According to the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several senior ministers and security chiefs approved the proposal on Sunday and then passed it to the Egyptians, who presented it to Hamas in Cairo on Monday and Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Massad Boulos — selected as Donald Trump’s Middle East adviser — told the French Le Point outlet Tuesday that “both sides have agreed on the broad outlines of an agreement.”
“The war is practically over,” he said. “There is practically no more significant military activity. The only issue that remains is the hostages, and the parties have already agreed on several occasions on an exchange between hostages and Palestinian prisoners.”
“The main lines of the agreement have already been established and there are only very small details to be settled on a few names,” Boulos said, “the number of people released [on the Palestinian side] and the period over which the exchanges should take place.”
Optimism was also sounded Thursday by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who told his US counterpart Antony Blinken in Malta that there is an opportunity to advance a deal
According to his office, Sa’ar stressed that Israel was serious about reaching a deal, sticking to the message he offered other foreign ministers at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe meeting.
Ninety-six of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
Agencies, Jacob Magid and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
