Reports: New US proposal would see 9 live hostages freed, 60-day truce, partial IDF withdrawal, option for war to resume

The new US proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas would entail the release of nine live hostages — one less than in a previous offer — and 18 bodies of captives, multiple Hebrew media outlets report. While many outlets don’t cite sources, others cite an unnamed Israeli source as confirming that Jerusalem has received the details from the US.

The reports say those hostages would be freed in two batches within one week — without saying whether or how many Palestinian security prisoners would go free — and that Jerusalem would commit to a 60-day truce during which negotiations would take place for an end to the war.

If there is no agreement at the end of this period, Israel would have the option of resuming fighting or of extending the ceasefire in exchange for more hostages, the reports says. This is a crucial detail since the main disagreement has reportedly been Hamas’s insistence on any deal permanently ending the war, and Israel rejecting this as long as Hamas isn’t dismantled.

According to the reported deal, humanitarian aid responsibilities would return to the UN, and the IDF would withdraw from areas it took over in its latest expanded operation, including the newly established Morag Corridor.