Hamas proposes 135-day Gaza truce with complete Israeli withdrawal

Hamas has proposed a ceasefire plan that would quiet the guns in Gaza for four-and-a-half months, during which all hostages would go free, Israel would withdraw its troops from the Gaza Strip and an agreement would be reached on an end to the war.

The group's proposal - a response to an offer sent last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators and cleared by Israel and the US - came during the biggest diplomatic push yet for an extended halt to the fighting.

There was no immediate public response from Israel, which has said it will not pull its troops out of Gaza until Hamas is wiped out.

The Hamas counterproposal envisages three phases of a truce, lasting 45 days each. Militants would exchange remaining Israeli hostages captured on October 7 for Palestinian prisoners. The reconstruction of Gaza would begin, Israeli forces would withdraw completely, and bodies and remains would be exchanged.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived overnight in Israel after meeting the leaders of mediators Qatar and Egypt.

A source close to the negotiations said the Hamas counterproposal did not require a guarantee of a permanent ceasefire at the outset, but an end to the war would have to be agreed during the truce before the final hostages were freed.

Ezzat El-Reshiq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, confirmed that the proposal had been passed on via Qatar and Egypt to Israel and the US.

"We were keen to deal with it in a positive spirit to stop the aggression against our Palestinian people and secure a complete and lasting ceasefire as well as provide relief, aid, shelter and reconstruction," he told Reuters.

According to the document, during the first 45-day phase, all Israeli women hostages, males under 19 and the elderly and sick would be released, in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails. Israel would also withdraw troops from populated areas.

Implementation of the second phase would not begin until the sides conclude "indirect talks over the requirements needed to end the mutual military operations and return to complete calm".

The second phase would include the release of remaining male hostages and "the withdrawal of Israeli forces outside the borders of all areas of the Gaza Strip".

Bodies and remains would be exchanged during the third phase. The truce would also increase the flow of food and other aid to Gaza's civilians, who are facing hunger and dire shortages of basic supplies.

Israel began its military offensive after militants from Hamas-ruled Gaza killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on October 7. Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 27,585 Palestinians have been confirmed killed in Israel's military campaign, with thousands more feared buried under rubble. So far, the only truce lasted just a week at the end of November.