Israel proposes 'limited' cease-fire without withdrawal from Gaza: Report

By Zein Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel has presented a cease-fire proposal that does not include the Israeli army's withdrawal from Gaza, local media reported Monday.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) said the proposal includes a temporary cease-fire in exchange for releasing several Israeli captives in Gaza.

KAN added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet internal security service, to Cairo to discuss the proposal with Egyptian officials.

Israel’s Walla news website said that Bar presented a proposal to a Cabinet meeting received from Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, the head of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service (GIS), to initiate cease-fire talks.

Walla noted that the new Egyptian offer includes the general outlines of a small deal with the Palestinian group Hamas under which several Israeli captives would be released for a cease-fire lasting a few days.

The Egyptian side and Hamas are yet to comment on the Israeli media reports.

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 continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas last October, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 42,600 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 99,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has displaced nearly the entire population of the territory amid a blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar