By Athena Papakosta

The United States has increased its pressure to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

From Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the World Economic Forum, the first stop of his seventh visit – since the start of the war – to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken emphasized that “Hamas has before it an extremely, extremely generous proposal on behalf of Israel” calling on it to accept it as soon as possible.

While Mr. Blinken was speaking in Saudi Arabia, the Hamas delegation was arriving in Cairo to discuss this new proposal with representatives from Qatar and Egypt.

What exactly this proposal includes remains, officially, unknown. However, according to the Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, it foresees a cessation of hostilities for 40 days in conjunction with the release of hostages and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.

At the same time, sources cited by international media say that in the draft agreement under discussion, Israel declares its willingness to accept the release of 33 hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, as well as a second phase of truce which includes a “permanent period of calm” ” in response to Hamas’ demand for a permanent ceasefire.

In early April, Hamas rejected an Israeli proposal for a six-week ceasefire and the release of 40 women, children, elderly and sick hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, as it insisted on its demand for a permanent ceasefire that would lead in the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip and the return of displaced civilians to their homes.

However, according to the American website Axios, Israel, this time, includes in its proposal the return of civilians to the northern part of the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of the Israeli armed forces from the corridor that bisects the Palestinian enclave and prevents the population movement.

At the same time, according to the New York Times and the Financial Times, Tel Aviv is reducing the number of hostages to 33 out of 40.

A senior Hamas official, according to Agence France-Presse, stressed on Sunday night that “the climate is positive unless new obstacles are put in place by Israel.”

However, Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, expressed optimism yesterday, stressing that “the proposal has taken into account the positions of both sides (…) and we await their decision”.

But as hopes of Israel and Hamas reaching a deal faded, the Israeli military continued its deadly airstrikes in Rafah, killing at least 25 on Monday.

United States President Joe Biden had already reiterated on Sunday evening in his telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Washington’s position with the US Secretary of State reiterating it from Saudi Arabia, hours before continue his tour of Jordan and Israel.

“We have said, clearly, for a long time, that without a plan that can ensure that civilians will not be harmed, we cannot support a major military operation in Rafah,” said Mr. Blinken characteristically with the Israeli prime minister, however, is still under pressure from some of his ministers to go ahead with an attack on the “last stronghold of Hamas”, as Tel Aviv calls the suffocatingly full of displaced civilians, the town of Rafah.