British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the proposal included a 40-day ceasefire and the release of prisoners.
The United States and the United Kingdom have called on Hamas to accept an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of some hostages held in the besieged territory.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on Monday that Israel’s proposal to Hamas called for a 40-day ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of “potentially thousands” of Palestinian prisoners in return for the release of some Israeli hostages.
Cameron described the offer as “generous” at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, on Monday.
“I hope that Hamas accepts the proposal before it,” he said, stressing that the war will not end until all prisoners are released.
Previously, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that he hoped Hamas would accept the proposal.
“They have to decide – and they have to decide quickly… I hope they make the right decision,” Blinken said.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been working for months to broker a deal between Israel and Hamas, but diplomatic excitement in recent days appeared to signal a new push to end nearly seven months of hostilities.
At least 34,488 people have been killed and 77,643 others injured in the Israeli assault on Gaza since October 7, according to Palestinian authorities in the besieged area.
Israel began its war on Gaza after Hamas militants led an attack on southern Israel on October 7 that killed at least 1,139 people and took around 250 others hostage, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official Israeli statistics.
Dozens of hostages were released by Palestinian groups in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons during a week-long ceasefire in late November.
Hamas delegation in Cairo
The proposal for a 40-day ceasefire comes as a high-level Hamas delegation travels to Egypt to take part in the latest round of negotiations aimed at interrupting – if not stopping – Israel’s relentless war on Gaza.
Led by Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’ deputy head in the Gaza Strip, the delegation is expected to deliver the group’s response to the latest proposal.
Hamas has repeatedly said it wants a permanent end to the fighting as part of an agreement to release prisoners.
Meanwhile, hardline Israeli ministers are warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his government will collapse if a ceasefire is agreed with Hamas in exchange for prisoners.
Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said the Israelis had a delegation ready to travel to Cairo tomorrow, but that would depend on Hamas’ response to Israel’s ceasefire proposal.
“It is understood that the Israelis will demand fewer than 40 of the approximately 130 prisoners held by Hamas, and in return will release Palestinian prisoners and move to a second phase of a ceasefire that… will provide this period of continued calm,” he said.
Smith noted that Hamas had insisted in previous rounds of talks that it wanted to achieve a complete end to hostilities and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
“So the question is whether this offer of a period of ‘continued calm’ will be enough for Hamas, given that it has called for this permanent ceasefire,” Smith said.
Israel’s war on Gaza has forced around 80 percent of the territory’s 2.3 million residents from their homes, caused widespread destruction in several cities and brought northern Gaza to the brink of famine.