Hamas is considering a proposed cease-fire deal with Israel in Gauzewhich includes three phases and envisages a ceasefire lasting several weeks, a source within the Palestinian Islamist organization told AFP today.

THE Hamas said yesterday that he was considering the truce proposal tabled by negotiators during a recent meeting in Paris following an initial week-long ceasefire in late November in which 105 hostages held in Gaza were freed in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians held in Israel.

The first phase of this proposal calls for a six-week truce, with the possibility of an extension. During this period, Israel should release between 200 and 300 Palestinian prisoners who are not being held under a high-security regime in exchange for the release of 35-40 hostages held in Gaza, said a source within Hamas close to the Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

Only “women, children and male patients over the age of 60” detained in Gaza will be able to be released, this source told AFP on condition of anonymity. Between 200 and 300 humanitarian aid trucks could also enter the Gaza Strip each day.

“The first step involves negotiations aimed at the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the return of displaced persons to the northern part of the Gaza Strip,” this source clarified.

Hamas is demanding a full ceasefire as a condition for any deal, particularly on the release of Israeli hostages. For his part, the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu warned yesterday that Israel would not release “thousands of Palestinian terrorists” in exchange for the release of hostages in Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal.

If the initial ceasefire is held, a second step calls for the release of “reserve soldiers” held in Gaza in exchange for the release of an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.

Non-reserve soldiers could also be released, according to this source, also in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

The final phase concerns the exchange of the bodies of people who have been killed and an agreement related to the control of Gaza border checkpoints and the reconstruction of the Palestinian territories.

During a meeting today with families of hostages, Netanyahu highlighted Israel’s “efforts” to free them, without directly mentioning the truce proposal.

“We are making every effort, but the longer these efforts remain discreet the greater the likelihood that they will succeed,” he stressed, according to a press release from his office.