ISTANBUL

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called on US envoy Steve Witkoff on Wednesday to seize the current opportunity created by Hamas’ acceptance of a ceasefire proposal to end Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

In a phone call, the two sides discussed the latest developments of the Gaza ceasefire negotiations after Hamas accepted “the proposal previously presented by Witkoff,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Abdelatty stressed “the need to seize the current opportunity created by Hamas’ approval of the US proposal to move forward and put an end to this unjust war in Gaza.”

He called for Israel’s acceptance of the proposal “to address the crisis, preserve the lives of the (Israeli) hostages, alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, and ensure the sufficient entry of humanitarian aid.”

Hamas said on Monday that it accepted a proposal by Egyptian and Qatari mediators for a Gaza ceasefire, without providing details about the proposal’s content.

Qatar said on Tuesday that Hamas’ response to the proposal was “almost identical” to what Israel had previously accepted.

Israeli public broadcaster KAN, citing unnamed sources, said the recent proposal closely resembles Witkoff’s original plan, which called for the release of 10 living hostages and 18 bodies in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire and negotiations to end the war.

According to Egyptian media, the proposal calls for Israeli forces to reposition near the border to facilitate humanitarian aid entering Gaza and a temporary halt to military operations for two months to facilitate a prisoner-hostage exchange.

Israel has not officially responded to the proposal, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel’s policy to end the Gaza war remains “unchanged,” calling for the release of all Israeli hostages in Gaza.

According to Israeli estimates, around 50 captives remain in Gaza, including 20 believed to be alive, while Israel is holding more than 10,800 Palestinians in its prisons under dire conditions, with rights groups reporting deaths due to torture, hunger, and medical neglect.

Israel has killed more than 62,100 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.