From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Report: Witkoff presented new proposal for Gaza ceasefire extension to Israel, Hamas
After arriving in Doha earlier this week, US special envoy Steve Witkoff has presented Israel and Hamas with a new outline to extend the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Axios reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The proposal, which differs from a previous outline put forward by Witkoff, would extend the current ceasefire by several weeks, until the end of both Ramadan and Passover, in exchange for the release of additional hostages, Axios says.
At the same time, Israel would also be required to resume the flow of humanitarian aid into the war-torn Palestinian enclave, it says.
One source with knowledge of the proposal’s contents says that Hamas will be required to release at least five living hostages and return the bodies of nine others on the first day of the extended truce.
Citing two named sources, Axios reports that the extension, should all parties agree to implement it, will give the US additional time to negotiate a more concrete, long-term truce agreement.
Should a long-term ceasefire agreement be reached, the report says that Hamas will be required to hand over all remaining hostages, living and dead, on the last day of the temporary truce extension, before the concrete ceasefire comes into effect.
Citing two unnamed sources, Axios says that the extension, should all parties agree, will give the US additional time to negotiate a more concrete truce agreement.
According to the report, Israel has given “a positive response” to Witkoff’s latest proposal, while Qatar and Egypt are still awaiting Hamas’s response after delivering it the details of the outline last night.
