Reports in the Israeli media have revealed the details of a ceasefire proposal previously conveyed by Egypt, one of the mediators in ceasefire and prisoner exchange negotiations in Gaza. According to the reports, Egypt proposed a 70-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip under Israeli attacks, in exchange for the release of 9 Israeli prisoners and the release of 2,500 Palestinian prisoners. The proposal expects Hamas to release 9 Israeli prisoners, including Idan Alexander, a dual citizen of the US and Israel, and to hand over the bodies of 2 dual citizen prisoners of the US and Israel. In return for the release of Israeli prisoners in Gaza, Israel is required to release a total of 2,500 Palestinian prisoners held in its prisons and to end its attacks on Gaza for 70 days. It was reported that out of the Palestinian prisoners that Israel must release, 2,200 are detained in Gaza, and 150 of them have been sentenced to life imprisonment. No statement has been made about the new ceasefire proposal allegedly conveyed by Egypt to the parties.

It had been reported that Egypt had presented a new offer to Israel and Hamas. The Israeli state television KAN reported on April 5 that Egypt, one of the mediators in ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip, had presented a new proposal for a ceasefire to Israel and Hamas. According to the report, Egypt revised the ceasefire proposal it offered jointly with Qatar last week, which Hamas accepted but Israel rejected. While details of the new ceasefire proposal were not disclosed in the report, it was noted that the proposal was somewhere between the offer including the release of 5 Israeli hostages presented by mediators last week and the request for the release of 11 hostages in exchange for only a 40-day ceasefire made by Israel. No explanation was provided regarding the new ceasefire proposal reportedly presented by Egypt to the parties.

After breaking the ceasefire, Israel resumed its intense attacks. Following the ceasefire that took effect on January 19 in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army resumed its violent attacks on the morning of March 18. Since Israel resumed its attacks, a total of 1,335 Palestinians, most of whom were elderly, women, and children, have lost their lives, and 3,297 people have been injured. The number of Palestinians who lost their lives in the attacks on the Gaza Strip by Israel since October 7, 2023, has risen to 50,695, while the number of injured has reached 115,338. Israel announced that it would act with “increasing military force” against Hamas due to the rejection of new ceasefire proposals. Hamas, on the other hand, stated that Israel did not keep its promises and initiated a genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip by failing to fulfill its responsibilities in front of the mediating countries for the ceasefire. The launching of Israel’s attacks on Gaza was notable for overshadowing controversial political steps such as the dismissal of the Shin Bet Director by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.