Egypt has put forward an ambitious, initial proposal to end the Israel-Hamas war with a ceasefire, a phased hostage release, and the creation of a Palestinian government of experts who would administer the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank, a senior Egyptian official and a European diplomat said Monday. Word of the proposal came as Israeli airstrikes heavily pounded central and southern Gaza, crushing buildings on families sheltering inside. In the Maghazi refugee camp, rescue workers pulled dozens more bodies from the wreckage hours after a strike leveled a three-story building and shattered others nearby. At least 106 people were killed, according to hospital records seen by the AP, making it one of the deadliest strikes of Israel's air campaign.
The Egyptian proposal, worked out with the Gulf nation of Qatar, has been presented to Israel, Hamas, the United States, and European governments but still appeared preliminary. It falls short of Israel's professed goal of outright crushing Hamas and would appear not to meet Israel's insistence on keeping military control over Gaza for an extended period after the war. Israel's War Cabinet, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will meet later Monday to discuss the hostage situation, among other topics, an Israeli official said, but would not say if they would discuss the Egyptian proposal. Ahead of the meeting, Netanyahu vowed, "We are not stopping. … We are expanding the fight in the coming days and this will be a long battle and it isn't close to finished."
The Egyptian proposal was an ambitious bid not only to end the war but also to lay out a plan for the day after. It calls for an initial ceasefire of up to two weeks during which Palestinian militants would free 40 to 50 hostages in return for the release of 120-150 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, the Egyptian official said. Egypt and Qatar would also work with all Palestinian factions, including Hamas, to agree on the establishment of a government of experts, he said. The government would rule Gaza and the West Bank for a transitional period as Palestinian factions settle their disputes and agree on a roadmap to hold presidential and parliamentary elections.
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