WASHINGTON –Β Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas, the White House said Thursday.
βI can confirm that special envoy (Steve) Witkoff and the president submitted a ceasefire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed and supported,β White House press Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
But Leavitt said talks were ongoing and Hamas had not yet accepted terms of the proposal.
Witkoff on Wednesday said the U.S. administration was close to presenting a new proposal.
The new proposal was intended to return surviving as well as dead hostages still being held in Gaza in exchange for an an extended truce in fighting.
Witkoff has not publicized his latest proposal, but a Hamas official and an Egyptian official independently confirmed some of the details. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks.
They say it calls for a 60-day pause in fighting, guarantees of serious negotiations leading to a long-term truce and assurances that Israel will not resume hostilities after the release of hostages,Β as it did in March. Israeli forces would pull back to the positions they held during the ceasefire Israel ended that month.
Hamas would release 10 living hostages and a number of bodies during the 60-day pause in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, including 100 serving long sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks.
Each day, hundreds of trucks carrying food and humanitarian aid would be allowed to enter Gaza, where experts say a nearly three-month Israeli blockade βΒ slightly eased in recent daysΒ β has pushed the populationΒ to the brink of famine.
