A new proposal for a truce in Gaza ..details

Hamas has presented a new ceasefire plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza that includes the release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, 100 of whom are serving life sentences.

It would be a three-phased ceasefire, with each stage lasting 42 days, sources told Al Jazeera of the Hamas proposal.

In the first stage, Hamas said Israeli forces must withdraw from al-Rashid and Salah al-Din streets to allow for the return of displaced Palestinians and the passage of aid, the sources said. Salah al-Din is the main arterial road that runs north to south in the strip.

The Palestinian armed group said the initial release of Israelis would include women, children, the elderly and ill captives in exchange for 700 to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, according to the proposal seen by the Reuters news agency. It includes the freeing of Israeli “female recruits”.

Hamas said 50 Palestinian prisoners of its choosing – 30 of whom are serving life sentences – should be freed in exchange for the release of one female Israeli reservist held captive in Gaza, sources told Al Jazeera.

The group said in the second phase of the plan a permanent ceasefire must be declared before any exchange of captured soldiers could begin, while the third stage would involve initiating a reconstruction process in Gaza and lifting Israel’s siege on the enclave.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday that the new proposal was still based on “unrealistic demands”.