Report: US hopes hostage deal could stop Israel’s military momentum, lead to lasting truce

Citing a draft of the deal read by “officials involved in the talks,” The Wall Street Journal reports that the US is “pushing for a ceasefire deal that could stop the war in Gaza long enough to stall Israel’s military momentum and potentially set the stage for a more lasting truce.”

The three-part deal being considered in Cairo would start with a six-week ceasefire in which Israel ends all military operations, including drone surveillance, according to the reported draft. Civilian hostages would be freed, and Gazan civilians would move around the Strip freely.

Female IDF soldiers would be released in the second phase, and hospitals, water services and bakeries would reopen, according to the report.

Hamas is demanding that Israel free 150 Palestinian security prisoners for each released female soldier hostage, the report says, adding that that ratio is one of the sticking points in the talks.

The third stage would see male IDF soldiers and the bodies of dead hostages released.