Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday proposed a two-day truce in Gaza and limited hostage exchange aimed at securing “a complete ceasefire” after more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas.
The proposal includes exchanging four Israeli hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and would be followed by more negotiations within 10 days, Sisi said at a news conference in Cairo.
He did not say whether the plan had been formally presented to either Israel or Hamas.
Sisi’s intervention came with Israel continuing to pound the Palestinian territory while also fighting a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and having just launched air strikes on its major foe Iran.
An armed Israeli warplane departs from an unknown location to attack Iran on Saturday. Photo: Israeli Army via AP
The strikes on Saturday, the second time Israel has retaliated against Iranian ballistic missile attacks, triggered global calls for restraint.
The UN Security Council will meet on Monday at Iran’s request, with Tehran calling for the body to condemn the strikes that killed four soldiers.