Hamas representatives showed Al Jazeera a copy of the Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal that the movement says it has agreed to.< /p>
The proposal includes three phases and calls for an end to Israel's war on Gaza, as well as the release of Israeli prisoners held in the enclave and Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Monday's Hamas announcement was met with celebrations in Gaza as Palestinians hoped it would finally end a nearly seven-month war in which Israel has killed at least 34,700 people in the Palestinian territory .
However, Israel's response was less than enthusiastic, as it continued to emphasize its desire to attack Rafah in southern Gaza and completely defeat Hamas.
In the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, about 1,400 people were killed and 250 were captured in Gaza. About 100 of these captives are believed to be still alive and in Gaza, while others were released or killed during the war.
For its part, the United States remained silent. Officials said they were reviewing Hamas's response to the cease-fire proposal, but did not provide any details about the deal or what exactly the Palestinian group agreed to.
The agreement is complex and will involve three stages, each lasting six weeks.
During the first phase, there will be a temporary cessation of hostilities between Hamas and Israel, as well as a withdrawal of Israeli forces to the east, away from the more densely populated areas of Gaza, and towards the border between Israel and the Palestinian enclave. Israeli planes and drones will also stop flying over Gaza for 10 hours each day and for 12 hours on prisoner release days.
During the first stage, Hamas will gradually release 33 prisoners (alive or remains of dead prisoners). The captives will be women, persons over the age of 50, sick or non-military persons under the age of 19. For every living Israeli civilian prisoner released, Israel will release 30 Palestinians it has detained. For every female soldier freed by Hamas, Israel will free 50 Palestinians.
The withdrawal of Israeli forces will allow displaced Palestinian civilians to return to their homes in Gaza, which will happen gradually as Hamas releases prisoners. Separately, the agreement stipulates that at this stage reconstruction work in Gaza should begin, as well as the flow of aid, and that UNRWA and other humanitarian organizations will be allowed to work to help the civilian population.
The second phase of the deal will see a definitive end to military operations and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. There will also be another prisoner swap, this time involving all remaining Israeli men, including soldiers held captive in Gaza. The Israelis will be released in exchange for an as yet unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.
The third stage will involve exchanging the remains of captives and prisoners held by both sides. In terms of development, this phase will include a three- to five-year plan to rebuild Gaza and, perhaps most importantly, an end to Israel's blockade of the enclave.