Cairo, Oct 28 (IANS) Egypt has proposed a two-day ceasefire deal in which four Israeli hostages in Gaza would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
The proposal was announced by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at a news conference on Sunday.
Sisi did not specify the number of Palestinian prisoners that would potentially be released, CNN reported.
Under the proposal, if the two-day ceasefire held, the two sides would then have 10 days to negotiate a permanent ceasefire to get desperately needed humanitarian aid into the Strip, Sisi said.
Officials in Gaza said the Israeli military has not been allowing the small amount of aid that does reach the enclave to be distributed in parts of northern Gaza, where it is carrying out renewed military operations.
Egypt has for months played a key role as a mediator in ceasefire talks, alongside the US and Qatar, and is in contact with some Hamas officials.
Sisi’s intervention came with Israel continuing to pound the Palestinian territory while also fighting a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and having just launched air strikes on its major foe Iran, CNN reported.
The strikes on Saturday, the second time Israel has retaliated against Iranian ballistic missile attacks, triggered global calls for restraint.
An emergency UN Security Council meeting will take place on Monday at Iran’s request, with Tehran calling for it to condemn the strikes that killed four soldiers.
At home, Iranian leaders played down their importance, saying the strikes had caused only limited damage.
President Masoud Pezeshkian told his cabinet Iran did not want war but would deliver “an appropriate response”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking on the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year, said the attack on Iran “was precise and powerful, achieving all of its objectives”.
Israel launched the strikes in retaliation for an October 1 attack by Iran, which fired about 200 missiles at Israel.
The talks aimed at restarting hostage and ceasefire negotiations for Gaza resumed in Qatar on Sunday, marking the first high-level talks in two months.
Dozens of hostages taken from Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks are still being held in Gaza.
As of April, more than 9,500 Palestinians were being held in Israeli prisons, including more than 3,500 without charges, according to Addameer Prisoner’s Support and Human Rights Association, a Palestinian NGO. That figure doesn’t include detainees from Gaza, the group said.
–IANS
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