Mediators present updated Gaza ceasefire proposal to Israel and Hamas
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — Smoke rises in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
WASHINGTON - Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. presented Israel and Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas with an updated Gaza ceasefire proposal on Wednesday, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two sources.
The two main updates in the latest proposal had to do with the scope of the Israeli military's withdrawal from Gaza during a ceasefire and the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to be released for each Israeli hostage, Axios reported.
The Qatari prime minister is expected to meet with Hamas leaders in Doha on Saturday in an effort to get their agreement to the updated proposal, the report added.
Israel previously insisted on maintaining a presence in a zone stretching 5 km north of the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza–Egypt border and has now reduced that demand to 1.5 km, closer to Hamas' demand that Israel withdraw to the same position as under the last ceasefire, Axios reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump met with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Wednesday.
Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since July 6, discussing a U.S.-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire.
A previous two-month ceasefire ended when Israeli strikes killed more than 400 Palestinians on March 18.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show.
Gaza's health ministry says Israel's subsequent military assault has killed over 58,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese and Daniel Wallis // REUTERS)
