Israel has handed Hamas through mediators Egypt and Qatar a proposal that includes up to a two-month pause in fighting as part of a multi-stage deal that would include the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Axios reports it citing some sources.
Israel, according to Axios reports, is awaiting a response from Hamas on the proposal and is cautiously optimistic about the possibility of making progress in the coming days.
The proposal includes the release of all living hostages and the bodies of those who died.
The first phase would see the release of women, men over 60 and hostages in difficult medical conditions.
The subsequent phases would instead be for the release of female soldiers, men under 60 who are not military personnel, soldiers and the bodies of deceased hostages.
The multi-phase proposal could lead to a pause in fighting for up to two months.
The proposal also includes Israel and Hamas agreeing in advance how many Palestinian prisoners to release for each Israeli hostage and then separately negotiating the names of the prisoners.
Video Israel, relatives of the hostages storm the Knesset
A group of family members of Israeli hostages in Gaza broke into the Knesset finance committee this morning demanding urgent action for the release of those kidnapped from the Strip.
The group is part of the protest that has been taking place since yesterday evening near Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, which they criticize for his lack of action to bring the hostages home "before it is too late".
The group of protesters was removed from the commission which however suspended its work.
In Khan Yunis the army surrounds Nasser hospital
High tension today in
Khan Yunis
(in the southern Gaza Strip) as Israeli forces gradually advance westwards, towards the sea, and southwards, towards Rafah.
According to military radio, the Israeli army has surrounded the Nasser hospital and is completing the isolation of the city center.
The troops have also reached al-Aqsa University and are now one kilometer from the humanitarian area of Moassi, near the sea, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are located.
The Israeli army laid siege
to the Red Crescent's central building in Khan Yunis
(south of Gaza) and effectively paralyzed all its activities, including those of the ambulance unit.
This was announced by the Red Crescent, according to which tanks surround the building and sharpshooters are stationed on the roofs of nearby buildings.
Local sources add that in the immediate vicinity of the building (eight floors high) there are thousands of displaced people, who can no longer move in any direction.
The sources add that there are bodies of people in the nearby streets, but this information has not yet been confirmed.
According to Israel, Nasser was used for military purposes by Hamas
The Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis (in the southern sector of the Gaza Strip) - which was surrounded by Israeli armored vehicles today - was used by Hamas for military purposes, Kan public television said.
The broadcaster cited intelligence information according to which dozens of hostages had been held there in the past.
Recently, Kan added,
fire was opened on Israeli soldiers from the hospital building.
Borrell: 'When will too many deaths in Gaza be too many?'.
First Labor vote of no confidence in Bibi since the start of the war
When will too many deaths in Gaza be too many?
This is the question posed by
EU High Representative Josep Borrell
, who announces that the situation will be discussed at today's foreign affairs council.
And he underlines that from now on we will have to talk about a two-state solution.
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza - reflects Borrell - could not be worse, there is no food, medicine and people are under bombs. Some ministers accept that there are too many civilian victims but when is enough enough? Today we will also talk about this ".
"It is not the way to conduct a military operation, and I say this with respect for the victims of 7 October", adds the European representative.
"From now on we must talk about a two-state solution and not a peace process, words are important", explains Josep Borrell arriving at the foreign affairs council.
"I know Israel doesn't agree but it's unacceptable, as the UN secretary general said. So we need to discuss. What is their solution? Kick people out of Gaza? Kill them all? Israel has been stirring up hatred for generations," he specifies.
And "Hamas is one of the obstacles to the two-state solution, but not the only one. We must work with the Arab world and discuss approaches among ourselves to achieve progress."
Hamas, 25,295 dead since the start of the war.
Meanwhile,
the Israeli Labor Party
, 4 seats out of 120 in the Knesset, will today present a motion of no confidence - the first since the beginning of the war - against Benjamin Netanyahu's government due to "its failure to bring home the hostages" held by Hamas in Gaza.
The party made this known by underlining that "the government is not taking the necessary decisions to save them and bring them back".
Labor - led by Merav Michaeli - has said it expects opposition parties to "support the no-confidence motion", even though the chances of it passing are slim.
The EU Presidency calls for an immediate ceasefire for Gaza
"On behalf of Belgium and the EU Presidency, the message I will bring today is clear:
we ask for an immediate ceasefire
, the release of the hostages, respect for international law, the return to the peace process which must lead to the creation of two states".
Belgian Foreign Minister
Hadja Lahbib
said this before the Foreign Affairs Council.
"There is a clear risk of regionalization of the conflict. The violence also needs to stop in the West Bank. We hope to be able to organize a peace conference in Brussels, in the more or less near future, which can truly relaunch political dialogue", he underlined.
Jordan: 'The EU must ask for a ceasefire, move forward with the two states'
“We expect the EU to call for a ceasefire and work with us to reach a concrete plan for the two-state solution, the time is now.”
Ayman Hussein Abdullah Al Safadi, Jordanian Foreign Minister
, said this
.
"Israel with its policy is condemning the region to years of conflict: the world is for the two-state solution and Israel is challenging the international community, it is time
to take measures, peace must be imposed", he added.
"Israel is undermining the two-state solution. The only way to ensure security for all is the two-state solution. The Israeli government said no, and so it is challenging the international order," the Foreign Minister added of Jordan, present in Brussels together with his Egyptian counterpart, the Saudi Foreign Minister and the heads of Israeli and Palestinian diplomacy.
Sejourné: 'I hope soon sanctions will be imposed on violent settlers in the West Bank'
"I hope that sanctions will arrive in the next few days for violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's words on the two-state solution are disturbing: we need the creation of a Palestinian state with security guarantees for all."
The French Foreign Minister,
Stephane Sejourné
, said this in Brussels.
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