US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff has presented Israel and Hamas with a modified version of his outline for a partial hostage release-ceasefire deal, a source told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
According to the source, his modified proposal would include the release of 10 living hostages. The hostage release would take place in two rounds.
The proposal included four additional key points.
The first point is the release of 18 deceased hostages alongside the 10living ones. It was not specified when the bodies would be released. This means that in total, the proposal would see the release of 28 out of the remaining 58 hostages still in Gaza.
Additionally, both sides would agree to a 60-day ceasefire. The proposal clarifies that at the end of this period, Israel can resume fighting if it wishes, or extend the ceasefire if meaningful negotiations have been ongoing.
IDF would withdraw, and aid distribution would change during temporary ceasefire
Finally, the IDF would withdraw from recently captured areas in the Gaza Strip, and the distribution of humanitarian aid would return to the United Nations.
Notably, this would replace aid distribution through centers within the Gaza Strip by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is being facilitated by American volunteers.
The aid division stipulation indicates that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is the driving factor behind the new proposal.
Shortly after Witkoff presented the proposal to Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a cabinet meeting to take place on Thursday evening to debate it. Ministers were also invited to the cabinet meeting, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid urged Netanyahu to accept the deal.
"Israel must publicly and immediately accept the framework presented this morning by the American mediator, Steve Witkoff. I remind Netanyahu that he has my full backing to accept the framework, even if Ben-Gvir and Smotrich try to sabotage it," Lapid said.
Before Witkoff's new proposal, Hamas falsely claimed on Wednesday that it had agreed to the previous version.
A source told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that “Hamas’s attempt to use the ‘Witkoff framework’ as a branded concept to promote their own vision will not succeed.”
The new proposal is based on discussions held in Washington in recent days between Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Witkoff, as well as talks conducted by Bishara Bahbah in Qatar with senior Hamas officials.
The main point of contention between the parties is what will happen on the final day of the ceasefire if no further agreement is reached.
This is a developing story.