An informed Palestinian source reported Monday evening that Israel had presented a new proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza Strip for 45 days. The proposal includes field, humanitarian, and security arrangements, as well as a phased prisoner exchange, as part of mediators' efforts to resume stalled negotiations.

According to the source, "the proposal Egypt conveyed to Hamas stipulates the handover of living and dead prisoners by the end of 45 days in order to extend the truce and allow aid into the area. The proposal Egypt presented on behalf of Israel also includes the release of half of the occupation's prisoners within the first week of the agreement."

According to the source who spoke to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the proposal stipulates that Israel will begin, on the second day of the agreement's entry into force, redeploying its military forces to the locations they were stationed in on March 2, 2025, in the Rafah and northern Gaza Strip areas, while resuming the entry of humanitarian aid in accordance with an agreed-upon protocol.

He added that the Israeli proposal also includes the release of five living Israelis on the second day, in exchange for the release of 66 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 611 detainees from the Gaza Strip.

The source indicated that the proposal also includes the commencement of negotiations on a permanent ceasefire on the third day of the agreement, including arrangements related to Israeli redeployment and disarmament, an item that Hamas and the resistance factions in Gaza categorically refuse to discuss.

The Israeli proposal stipulates that Hamas release four living hostages on the seventh day in exchange for 54 prisoners serving life sentences and 500 detainees held after October 7. Hamas is to provide full information on all living hostages on the tenth day, and the bodies of 16 Israelis are to be released on the twentieth day.

Hamas: We are studying the proposal we received from the mediators and will respond soon.

In a statement issued shortly before midnight on Monday, the group affirmed that it was "studying, with great national responsibility, the proposal it received from the mediating brothers," noting that it "will submit its response to it as soon as possible, once the necessary consultations are completed."

The movement reiterated its "firm position that any future agreement must achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, a genuine prisoner exchange deal, the start of a serious process to rebuild what the occupation has destroyed, and the lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip."

Netanyahu: Intensive negotiations are underway to return the prisoners.

In a related development, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a meeting with the family of one of the prisoners on Monday that "the ongoing negotiations are focused on the release of 10 prisoners, and we are not prepared to make any concessions."

He added, "As I have previously pledged, we will work to release everyone, and we will continue the fight until Hamas is eliminated." Netanyahu indicated that there are "solutions that no one has ever imagined," without revealing further details.

A statement issued by Netanyahu's office said he had phone calls with the mothers of three prisoners held in the Gaza Strip: Tamir Nimrodi, Avinatan Or, and Eitan Horn.

During the talks, Netanyahu, according to the statement, presented details about what he described as "ongoing efforts" to return the prisoners, and said that "intensive negotiating efforts are underway these days" with the aim of reaching an agreement.

Netanyahu's office reiterated its commitment to "returning all prisoners, living or dead," according to a statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

The dispute lies in ending the war and disarming the resistance.

In this context, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Hamas has expressed a willingness to increase the number of live hostages it might release compared to its previous offer, but the central issue now is obtaining clear guarantees for an end to the war, a position the movement insists upon.

The newspaper noted that relevant Israeli authorities are awaiting Hamas's response to the amended proposal within days, and that if a basis for negotiations is found, Israel will send a negotiating delegation to Doha or Cairo to resume dialogue, and is prepared to do so whenever necessary.

For its part, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation, Kan 11, reported that Hamas is prepared to release a larger number of living prisoners than it had previously proposed, and that its current position seeks to ensure Israel's full commitment to the terms of the agreement, particularly those related to ending the war.

On Monday evening, the channel quoted an informed source as saying that Israel had expressed a willingness to make "certain concessions," but refused to make any commitment that might be interpreted as a waiver of the goal of "eliminating Hamas."

Kan 11 reported that the mood among Israeli professionals is currently pessimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement soon. However, these sources stress the need to reach a deal, as time is running out to save the lives of the hostages, as they put it.

Hamas also reportedly expressed its dissatisfaction during the Cairo talks with the inclusion of a clause relating to the disarmament of the Palestinian resistance. Hamas informed the Egyptian mediator that it categorically refuses to discuss this issue at this stage, and considers the basic condition for any agreement to be a cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

A leading Hamas source denied the movement's willingness to relinquish its weapons. The source explained that, "In general, numerous proposals have recently been put forward to meet Israeli conditions regarding the weapons of the resistance and its leaders. These are proposals that all resistance factions unanimously rejected, not just Hamas."

Agence France-Presse quoted Taher al-Nunu, media advisor to the head of Hamas's political bureau, on Monday as saying that the movement is prepared to release all Israeli detainees in exchange for a ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Al-Nunu added, "We are ready to release all Israeli prisoners in exchange for a serious exchange deal, an end to the war, an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the entry of aid." He accused the Israeli occupation of obstructing the agreement.

He said, "The problem is not the number of prisoners, but rather that the occupation is shirking its commitments, obstructing the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, and continuing the war." He emphasized that Hamas "confirmed to the mediators the need for guarantees to compel the occupation to implement the agreement."

He explained that "Hamas responded positively and with great flexibility to the ideas presented in the negotiations, regarding a ceasefire and prisoner exchange." He added that "the occupation wants to release its prisoners without moving to the second-stage issues related to a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip."

An Egyptian source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the talks in Cairo, from which the Hamas delegation departed on Monday morning, included contacts with representatives of the US mediator. The source said that Hamas expressed its willingness to agree to the release of nine prisoners, while US administration officials demanded an increase in the number, with pledges that if Hamas agreed to the agreed-upon increase, it would push Israel toward negotiations to enter the second phase of the ceasefire agreement signed on January 17.

The source explained that the formula proposed by the US side was not accepted by the Hamas delegation, which considered it evasive, as it did not explicitly stipulate direct entry into the second phase of the agreement, which includes an end to the war and an Israeli withdrawal. The US proposal was limited to initiating negotiations regarding the transition to the second phase.