Egypt proposes 45-60 day Gaza cease-fire, reopening of Rafah crossing

JERUSALEM (AA) – Egypt has proposed a cessation of fighting in Gaza for 45 to 60 days and opening the Rafah border crossing, Israeli media reported.

The proposal also includes a gradual release of Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and an increase in the number of aid trucks into Gaza to some 350 per day, Israeli Channel 12 reported.

The broadcaster said the Egyptian proposal has not been officially announced.

“The details of the proposal have not yet been finalized, but it can be understood that this is a deal that is being carried out in stages, with its first stage lasting from a month and a half to two months,” the channel said.

It said the proposal includes the opening of the Rafah crossing, a vital route for humanitarian aid into the enclave, and transferring the responsibility of overseeing it to the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects any role for the Palestinian Authority in running post-war Gaza.

“As for the Netzarim Corridor, which divides northern Gaza from the south, and the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border, it is believed that the Egyptians will propose a new form of deployment of forces,” the broadcaster said, without elaborating.

Egypt rejects any Israeli military presence at the Philadelphi Corridor on its border with Gaza.

There was no immediate comment from Egypt on the Israeli media report.

Israel, which holds over 10,000 Palestinian detainees in its jails, estimates that 101 captives are being held in Gaza while Hamas reported that 33 of them had been killed in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt and Qatar to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas have failed over Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the war.

Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip last October, killing over 44,500 people, most of them women and children, and injuring nearly 106,000. Several analysts believe the actual toll is over 4-5 times the official numbers, as it includes those gone missing and those dying of starvation or infectious disease.

The second year of the genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and blocking of aid deliveries as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.