Israel endorses new US plan for half of hostages to be released now, ceasefire maintained
As phase 1 period ends, PM’s office backs what it says is Witkoff proposal for permanent ceasefire and all hostages freed by end of Passover; Hamas: Israel reneging on deal
As the status of the Gaza ceasefire entered limbo early Sunday with the formal end of its 42-day first phase, Israel said it would wait an unspecified period of time before taking any action, while unveiling details of what it said was an American outline for the release of the remaining hostages and a permanent ceasefire.
Minutes after midnight and following a four-hour security consultation with top officials, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declared that it was endorsing what it described as a proposal by US President Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, which would see the ceasefire with Hamas extended through Ramadan and Passover, during which all hostages could potentially be released.
Ramadan, which began Friday night, runs until March 29. Passover ends on April 19.
According to Israel’s account of Witkoff’s proposal, half of the remaining hostages — living and dead — would be released on the first day of the extended ceasefire, and the remaining captives would be released at the end of the period if a permanent ceasefire is reached.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 59 hostages, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces. Two of the 24 abductees presumed alive, as well as three of the dead captives, don’t hold Israeli citizenship. Dozens of foreign nationals have so far been freed by Hamas outside of the framework of hostage deals with Israel, meaning any future exchange of hostages for Palestinian security prisoners is expected to include as many as 22 living captives and at least 32 bodies.
Netanyahu’s office said Witkoff had suggested the outline due to his impression that “at this stage, there is no option to bridge the gaps between the sides on ending the war, and that additional time is needed for talks about a permanent ceasefire.”
The statement claimed that Hamas has so far rejected the US plan, and implied that if this stance isn’t changed, Israel could resume the war against the Palestinian terror group that was sparked by the latter’s October 7, 2023, onslaught and which has been on pause since January 19.
Hamas has indeed publicly rejected Israel’s proposal to extend the first stage of the deal, insisting that the deal proceed with phase two — which includes the release of all remaining living hostages, a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and a permanent end to the war. Israel has largely refused to negotiate the details of phase two for the past month.
During the first phase, 33 Israeli hostages were released, eight of them dead, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including many convicted terrorists serving hefty jail sentences. Five Thai nationals held hostage in the Gaza Strip were freed separately.
Responding to Israel’s announcement, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi told AFP the terror group was insisting on the implementation of the second phase, arguing that Israel was “reneging on the agreements it has signed.”
“The only way to achieve stability in the region and the return of the prisoners is to complete the implementation of the agreement… starting with the implementation of the second phase,” Mardawi said. “This is what we insist on and we will not back down from it.”
The marathon meeting Saturday evening — headed by Netanyahu and attended by Defense Minister Israel Katz, senior defense officials, and Israel’s negotiating team — was convened to formulate Israel’s path ahead amid the deadlocked negotiations. As of Sunday, the first phase of the truce is over and hasn’t been extended, no second phase has been negotiated, and fighting can therefore resume at any time.
But Jerusalem decided to wait before taking such a step.
Netanyahu’s office said Hamas has yet to accept Witkoff’s plan, saying: “If Hamas changes its position, Israel will immediately enter negotiations on all the details of the Witkoff plan.”
The statement did not directly threaten a return to war, instead reminding the public — and Hamas — that the initial agreement allows Israel to return to fighting after March 1 if negotiations are deemed ineffective.
The Prime Minister’s Office claimed in its statement that Hamas had repeatedly violated the agreement, while Israel was in full compliance.
However, the agreement states that talks on phase two of the deal will begin “no later than day 16.” Israel has not engaged in indirect talks with Hamas on the second phase of the agreement until after day 42. Additionally, the IDF didn’t start withdrawing its forces from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border on Saturday, despite the deal requiring Israel to start this process on day 42.
Before Saturday’s high-level consultations, the premier also held an extensive telephone discussion on Friday evening as well, which, in a rare instance, continued into Shabbat.
Under the ceasefire outline agreed by Israel and Hamas on January 19, the remaining living hostages were to be released during the second stage of the deal, during which the IDF would complete a full withdrawal from Gaza. A third stage is also planned, during which the bodies of hostages held by Gazan terror groups would be released, the war would end, and the reconstruction of Gaza would begin.
Senior Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, have said in recent days that the military was preparing for the option of the war resuming.
Channel 12 news reported Saturday that IDF troops have been drilling the past few days for a potential rapid return to areas in Gaza from which the IDF withdrew under the deal, including a return to the Netzarim Corridor, and for the movement of the civilian populace from the north of the Strip to humanitarian areas in southern Gaza.
Two IDF divisions are currently deployed to a buffer zone on the Gaza border, including the Philadelphi Corridor. An Israeli official sent a statement to reporters Thursday rejecting any withdrawal of IDF troops from the corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, despite the deal’s requirement that it start pulling out forces on the 42nd day of the ceasefire, and complete the process on day 50.
Israel contends that the border zone is a major smuggling route that will be used by Hamas to bring more weapons and fortifications into Gaza to rebuild its decimated forces unless it is policed by Israeli troops. Both Hamas and Egypt reject a continued Israeli presence there.
Witkoff is expected to visit Israel soon, likely this coming week. The Ynet news site reported early Sunday, without citing sources, that Jerusalem would likely hold off on renewing the fighting until the visit.
An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Witkoff would not travel to the region until late in the week at the earliest, as he plans to remain in the United States for Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Witkoff said last weekend that he would travel to the region on Wednesday but ended up pushing back his trip, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to Washington. Trump has expanded Witkoff’s portfolio to include Russia-Ukraine negotiations, but the Mideast envoy was not seen in the Oval Office during Friday’s explosive meeting between Trump and Zelensky.
Officials from Israel, Qatar, Egypt and the US had been involved in negotiations on the second phase in Cairo, with negotiators from Jerusalem returning home on Friday. Hamas did not attend the negotiations, but its position has been represented through Egyptian and Qatari mediators. PJC
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
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