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Egypt proposes new plan to restore Gaza truce after Israeli strikes kill 65

Security sources said that Egypt floated a proposal on Monday to restore the Gaza ceasefire agreement, while Palestinian health officials reported that Israeli strikes in Gaza had killed at least 64 people in the last 24 hours.

The proposal was made last week after an increase in violence following Israel's resumption of air and ground operations on March 18 against Hamas militants, effectively ending a relative calm of two months after 15 months of conflict.

Gaza's health officials reported that Israeli airstrikes, shelling and other actions have resulted in the deaths of nearly 700 Palestinians including 400 women and children.

Two local journalists were among those who died on Monday, Mohammad Mansour, and Hussam Schabat, according to medics. According to the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate, at least 206 journalist have been killed in Gaza by Israeli fire since the conflict began early in October 2023. Israeli officials did not immediately comment.

Hamas, an Islamist group, said that several of its top political and security officials were also killed.

Two security sources confirmed that the Egyptian plan requires Hamas release five Israeli hostages every week. Israel will implement the second phase after the first week.

Hamas still holds 59 hostages. Of the 250 or so that it captured in its cross-border attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, 24 are believed to still be alive. The majority of the remaining hostages have been released in exchanges negotiated periodically.

Security sources claim that both the U.S., and Hamas, have accepted the proposal. Israel, however, has yet to respond.

Hamas officials did not confirm this offer but said that they were discussing "several propositions" with mediators in order to close the gap, and resume negotiations so as to find a common ground which would pave way for the start of the second phase.

Withdrawal Timetable

Sources said that the Egyptian proposal included a timeline of a complete Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza backed by U.S. guarantee in exchange for the remaining hostages.

Hamas accused Israel of violating the terms of a ceasefire agreement signed in January, but said it was willing to negotiate and was examining proposals by Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of U.S. president Donald Trump.

Israel has resumed military operations in Gaza to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages.

It claims to do its best to minimize harm to civilians, and has questioned death tolls provided by the health authorities of the Hamas run enclave.

Palestinian officials put the death toll from the conflict of nearly 18 months at more than 50,000 on Sunday.

Israel began its offensive against Gaza after Hamas fighters invaded southern Israel in October 2023 and killed 1,200 people. Most of them civilians.

Rafah is Gaza's southernmost town. The municipality reported that thousands of people are trapped in the Tel Al-Sultan area where Israeli forces have entered. Families are stuck among the rubble, without food or water.

The Palestinian Civil Emergency Service reported that 50,000 residents were still trapped in Rafah. Rafah is located near the border of Egypt.

The Israeli military claimed that troops had encircled Tel Al-Sultan in order to demolish "terrorist infrastructure sites" and eliminate terrorists from the area.

UNRWA (the U.N. Palestinian Relief Agency for Palestinians) said that 124,000 people had been displaced from Gaza in the last few days.

Families are left with nothing but what they can carry, as there is no place to go, and no shelter. Israel has cut off all assistance. The prices of food are rising and the availability is limited. It is a human catastrophe. UNRWA stated on X that the siege had to end. Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Maayan Loubell, Ahmed Shalaby and Sharon Singleton contributed to the reporting and writing; Mark Heinrich and Sharon Singleton edited.

(source: Reuters)