CIA Director Williams Burns put forth a new proposal for a six-week cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, CNN and Axios reported Monday.
Burns made the proposal Sunday in Cairo in a meeting with Israel's Mossad chief, the prime minister of Qatar, and the Egyptian spy chief.
The proposal would require Hamas to deliver a list of the 40 hostages they would release, including five female soldiers. Israel would have to release 700 Palestinian prisoners, including more than 100 serving life sentences for crimes that include killing Israelis, according to the two reports.
Hamas still holds more than 100 hostages after kidnapping more than 240 beginning Oct. 7.
The Burns proposal also calls for Israel to allow 150,000 Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, up from the 60,000 Israel previously offered. Israel, if it agrees to a return at all, has insisted on inspections of those returning north in an effort to weed out terrorists who might try to embed themselves in the trek, according to CNN.
Israel's proposals in Cairo did not include a return of displaced Palestinians to their homes, according to CNN. And Israel has rejected an unrestricted return and the redeployment of IDF troops out of central Gaza.
Those terms, if agreed upon, would result in a six-week cease-fire. A truce could happen as early as Wednesday if the parties agree, The Wall Street Journal reported.
No Hamas representative was at the Burns meeting. However, a Hamas delegation was meeting separately with Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Cairo, according to the reports.
White House spokesman John Kirby confirmed that a proposal had been made to Hamas in Cairo.
"We are waiting for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's response. It could take a few days," Kirby said Monday, given that Hamas' leaders are hiding out in the tunnels beneath Gaza. "Now it's going to be up to Hamas to come through."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he "received a detailed report" on the talks from Cairo but added that Israel is pressing ahead with its operation in Rafah to root out more Hamas terrorists.
"We are constantly working to achieve our goals, primarily the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas. This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen, there is a date," Netanyahu said.
A Qatari spokesman said Monday he's more "optimistic today than I was a couple of days ago."
"I can't go into the details of these proposals, but I can tell you it bridges the gap in a way that hasn't been done in the last couple of months," Qatar foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told the BBC.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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