Egypt makes new proposal to restore Gaza truce as Israeli strikes kill 65

Egypt has floated a new proposal aimed at restoring the Gaza ceasefire deal, security sources said on Monday, as Palestinian health authorities said Israeli strikes had killed at least 65 people in the enclave in the previous 24 hours.

The proposal, made last week, follows an escalation in violence after Israel resumed air and ground operations against Hamas fighters on March 18, ending a two-month period of relative calm after 15 months of war, reports Reuters.

Gaza health officials said Israeli airstrikes and shelling have killed nearly 700 Palestinians since then, including at least 400 women and children.

Among those killed on Monday were two local journalists, Mohammad Mansour and Hussam Shabat, medics said. The Palestinian Journalist Syndicate said at least 206 journalists have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since early October 2023, when the conflict erupted. There was no immediate Israeli comment.

Islamist group Hamas said several of its senior political and security officials had also been killed.

The Egyptian plan calls for Hamas to release five Israeli hostages each week, with Israel implementing the second phase of the ceasefire after the first week, two security sources said.

Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, with 24 thought to be still alive, among the more than 250 it seized in its October 7, 2023 cross-border attack on Israel. Most of the rest have been freed, or their bodies handed over, in negotiated exchanges.

Both the US and Hamas have agreed to the proposal, the security sources said, but Israel has not yet responded.

The sources said the Egyptian proposal includes a timeline for a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, backed by US guarantees, in exchange for the release of remaining hostages.

Israel says it resumed its military operations to force Hamas to release the remaining hostages it is holding in Gaza.