Gaza Ceasefire Plan Gains Momentum Before Trump-Netanyahu Meeting/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ Israel sends negotiators to Qatar as new details emerge about a proposed 60-day Gaza ceasefire. Netanyahu heads to Washington to meet President Trump, who offers personal guarantees for any truce. Meanwhile, deadly airstrikes in Gaza continue, fueling urgency around talks.
Quick Look
- Netanyahu traveling to Washington for talks with Trump
- Proposal includes 60-day Gaza ceasefire and hostage release
- Over 38 Palestinians killed in new Israeli airstrikes
Fresh Details on Gaza Ceasefire Plan as Netanyahu Heads to White House
Deep Look
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — New details emerged Sunday about a proposed Gaza ceasefire as Israel dispatched negotiators to Qatar ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting at the White House. Meanwhile, deadly Israeli airstrikes continued across the Gaza Strip, with hospital officials reporting at least 38 Palestinians killed.
“There are 20 hostages alive, 30 dead. I am determined — we are determined — to bring them all back,” Netanyahu said before leaving for Washington, adding that Israel’s goal remains eliminating Hamas’ military and governing capacity.
A person familiar with the talks shared a copy of the latest ceasefire proposal with The Associated Press. Two others familiar with the negotiations confirmed its contents, all speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive talks publicly.
The document outlines a proposed 60-day ceasefire under which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and return 18 bodies. In exchange, Israeli forces would withdraw to a buffer zone along Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt, while large volumes of humanitarian aid would be delivered and distributed by the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent. The document does not clarify the future role of the U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which Israel prefers over the U.N. system.
A Trump Guarantee
As in previous deals, Palestinian prisoners would be exchanged for Israeli hostages, though the exact numbers remain undecided.
Notably, the proposal stops short of guaranteeing a permanent end to the conflict — Hamas’ primary demand. However, it states that negotiations for a lasting ceasefire would proceed during the 60-day truce.
During this period, “President (Donald) Trump guarantees Israel’s adherence” to halting military operations and “will personally announce the ceasefire agreement,” the document reads.
This personal guarantee from Trump appears aimed at reassuring Hamas that Israel will not abruptly resume hostilities, as occurred in March after a prior ceasefire collapsed.
While Trump recently claimed Israel had agreed to terms for a 60-day ceasefire, it’s unclear whether he was referencing this exact proposal. Hamas has requested unspecified changes.
Separately, an Israeli official said Saturday that the country’s security cabinet approved sending aid into northern Gaza, where food shortages have been severe. The official spoke anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the discussions.
Since the collapse of the last ceasefire in March, only small amounts of aid have reached northern Gaza. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s nearest distribution point lies south of Gaza City, in an area separated from the north by the Israeli military corridor.
Israel Strikes Hundreds of Targets
In ongoing violence, Israeli strikes hit two homes in Gaza City, killing 20 Palestinians and injuring 25 more, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, director of Shifa Hospital.
Israel’s military confirmed strikes on Hamas fighters in two locations near Gaza City but did not elaborate on casualties.
Further south, Israeli strikes killed 18 Palestinians in Muwasi, a coastal zone housing thousands of displaced people in makeshift tents, according to officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. Entire families were reportedly wiped out.
“My brother, his wife, his four children, my cousin’s son and his daughter… eight people are gone,” said Saqer Abu Al-Kheir as mourners gathered on the sand for funeral prayers and burials.
Israel’s military said it carried out 130 strikes in Gaza over the past 24 hours, claiming to hit Hamas command centers, weapons storage sites, and rocket launchers, and said several militants were killed in northern Gaza.
Divisions Over Ending the War
As indirect negotiations with Hamas resumed in Qatar, Netanyahu’s office accused the militant group of seeking “unacceptable” changes to the ceasefire plan. Yet Hamas described its reply late Friday as “positive.”
The group remains adamant that any initial truce must lead to a full Israeli withdrawal and a permanent end to the war. Previous efforts have broken down over Hamas’ insistence on such guarantees, while Netanyahu has maintained that fighting will resume if necessary to defeat Hamas entirely.
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Most hostages have been freed in previous truces. Israel’s ensuing military campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians — more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. While the ministry is operated by the Hamas-led government, international organizations regard its casualty figures as the most credible available, though it does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The fate of the ceasefire — and the possibility of ending the war — now rests with the complex diplomatic choreography playing out between Washington, Doha, Jerusalem, and Gaza.
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