Egypt proposes temporary Gaza cease-fire, reopening of Rafah crossing: Israeli media

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Egypt has floated a new Gaza cease-fire proposal that includes a cessation of fighting for 45 to 60 days and opening the Rafah border crossing, Israeli media said on Thursday.

The proposal also includes a gradual release of live hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and an increase in the number of aid trucks into Gaza to some 350 per day, Israeli Channel 12 reported.

The broadcaster said the Egyptian proposal has not been officially announced.

"The details of the proposal have not yet been finalized, but it can be understood that this is a deal that is being carried out in stages, with its first stage lasting from a month and a half to two months,” the channel said.

It said the proposal includes the opening of the Rafah crossing, a vital route for humanitarian aid into the enclave, and transferring the responsibility of overseeing it to the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects any role for the Palestinian Authority in running post-war Gaza.

"As for the Netzarim Corridor, which divides northern Gaza from the south, and the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border, it is believed that the Egyptians will propose a new form of deployment of forces," the broadcaster said, without elaborating.

Egypt rejects any Israeli military presence at the Philadelphi Corridor on its border with Gaza.

There was no immediate comment from Egypt on the Israeli media report.

Israel, which holds over 10,000 Palestinian detainees in its jails, estimates that 101 hostages are being held in Gaza while Hamas reported that 33 of them had been killed in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas have failed over Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the war.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last October, killing over 44,500 people, most of them women and children, and injuring nearly 106,000.

The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar