(Reuters) – Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting in Gaza and exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners as a first step towards an end to the 15-month-old war.
With just a week to go before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes over from President Joe Biden, officials said a breakthrough had been achieved in talks in Doha and agreement could be near.
Here are main points from the draft, according to an Israeli official who briefed reporters. Hamas has not given any details.
HOSTAGE RETURN
In the first stage, 33 hostages would be set free. These include children, women, including female soldiers, men above 50, wounded and sick. Israel believes most are alive but has had no official confirmation from Hamas.
– If the first stage proceeds as planned, on the 16th day from the deal taking effect, negotiations would start on a second stage during which the remaining living hostages – male soldiers and men of military age – would be released and the bodies of the dead hostages returned.
TROOP WITHDRAWAL
The withdrawal would be phased, with Israeli forces remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages. In addition, there would be security arrangements at the Philadelphi corridor, along the southern edge of Gaza, with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
– Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed back, with a mechanism to ensure no weapons are moved there. Israeli troops will withdraw from the Netzarim corridor in central Gaza.
– Palestinian militants convicted of murder or deadly attacks would also be released but numbers would depend on the number of live hostages, which is still unknown. The prisoners would not be released to the West Bank. Hamas fighters who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel would not be released.
INCREASED AID
There would be a significant increase of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, where international bodies including the United Nations warn that the population is facing a severe humanitarian crisis.
Israel allows aid into the enclave but there have been disputes over the amount allowed in as well as the amount that reaches people in need, with looting by criminal gangs an increasing problem.
FUTURE GOVERNANCE OF GAZA
Who will run Gaza after the war is one of the great unknowns of the negotiations and it appears that the current round of talks have not even addressed the issue due to its complexity and the likelihood it would hold up a limited deal.
Israel has said Hamas can play no role at all and it has rejected the involvement of the Palestinian Authority, the body set up under the Oslo interim peace accords three decades ago that exercises limited sovereignty in the occupied West Bank.
It has also said from the beginning of its campaign in Gaza that it would retain security control over the enclave after the fighting ends.
The international community has said that Gaza must be run by Palestinians but efforts to find alternatives to the main factions among civil society or clan leaders have proved largely fruitless.
However there have been discussions between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United States over a provisional administration that would run Gaza until a reformed Palestinian Authority is able to take charge.
(Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Howard Goller)
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