Israel ‘proposes TWO MONTH Gaza ceasefire to secure the release of remaining 130 Hamas hostages’ – a day after furious families stormed parliament building demanding action

Israel is seeking a two-month ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza to ensure the safe release of around 130 hostages still held in the enclave, reports claim.

Under a new proposal, Israel is open to exchanging more Palestinian prisoners in exchange for all remaining hostages and the bodies of those killed since the conflict broke out on October 7, the US newspaper Axios reported late on Monday.

Qatari and Egyptian mediators have already helped facilitate urgent talks between the warring sides that would seek to pause, but not permanently end, the war in the Middle East, the report claims.

Officials said they were waiting for a response from Hamas but claimed they were cautiously optimistic that talks would progress in the coming days.

The claims come just one day after aggrieved families of hostages stormed the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to demand the safe return of loved ones after nearly two months without an exchange.

Families and supporters also mobilized outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Monday, holding up photos of hostages and demanding to “bring them home now.”

Hamas has also increased demands on Israel to end the bombardment of the Gaza Strip or risk more casualties. Earlier this month, the group released a video of hostages, apparently under duress, calling for an end to hostilities from Gaza – before claiming two had since been killed in Israeli army airstrikes.

A woman calls for the return of Alex Dancyg outside Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, January 22, 2024

Protesters held up signs and chanted slogans during a Knesset parliamentary session yesterday

According to AxiosIsrael is said to be looking for a multi-phase swap of hostages and prisoners that could last up to two months, with women, men over 60 and hostages in critical medication given priority for release.

The proposed deal would aim to agree on a certain number of Palestinian prisoners to be returned to Gaza in exchange for hostages traveling in the other direction, before working out the finer details of each individual negotiation.

Israeli officials are said to be even willing to deploy the IDF outside major population centers as pressure mounts from Israeli allies to minimize civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip.

But the proposal does not include Israel formally ending the war or releasing all 6,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, Axios reported.

The claims come at the height of recent clashes between the government and the families of hostages who are pressing for the safe release of their loved ones.

Last night, protesters wielded signs calling for the release of hostages who gathered outside the Israeli prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem as relatives stormed a parliamentary committee nearby.

About 20 people interrupted the Knesset Finance Committee’s discussion with signs that read: “You are not going to sit here while they die there.” Rise from your seats.”

The group sang, “Let them go now, now, now!”

It was the latest in a series of deliberate disturbances challenging the government’s stated goal of returning hostages snatched from Israel last October.

About 240 were captured when Hamas descended on small towns in southern Israel on the morning of October 7, 2023.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a weeklong ceasefire in November, involving a significant prisoner swap of about 110 prisoners in Gaza in exchange for about 180 Palestinians held in Israel.

Israel has since returned to its bombardment of the besieged Strip, clearing the way for infantry forces to push through major population centers in the north, south and center for Hamas hideouts.

Aid workers in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, told MailOnline in December that conditions were much worse than before the ceasefire and people were struggling to access food, water and medical supplies.

But Hamas has reportedly rejected peace proposals from Israel in the weeks since, as international pressure mounts on Israel to show restraint in Gaza anyway.

Dr. Andreas Krieg, assistant professor of Defense Studies at King’s College London, told MailOnline that Hamas’ demands for a ceasefire have changed as Israel “realizes that this operational pace is not sustainable.”

While many of those released in the first ceasefire were civilians, a new list will include “Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists and other high-ranking, high-profile terrorists” and will demand “some kind of permanent ceasefire contain.

It will be more difficult for Israel to justify the release of such groups than civilians previously detained.

Nevertheless, Hamas has requested the release of all Palestinian security prisoners in Israel in exchange for the remaining hostages, while rejecting an ambitious proposal proposal through Egypt to end the fighting and move towards a a single Palestinian government, which Hamas could also fall under at the end of last year.

Hamas “realizes that the IDF is not making the progress they thought they were making and the IDF realizes that this military solution will take years,” said Dr. Krieg.

“But there is no reason in the US or domestically for this to continue at the current pace, so something has to be done.”

The hostages’ families have also called on Israel to scale back operations following reports that IDF soldiers had accidentally shot hostages while operating in the dense urban environment of the Gaza Strip.

In December, the IDF took responsibility for the accidental deaths of three hostages who shouted “help” in Hebrew and waved white flags as they were shot earlier on Friday morning.

A day later the murder of one Christian mother and child shelter in a church in Gaza fueled concerns about the way the IDF was operating in Gaza.

And this month, Hamas released a video allegedly showing the bodies of two Israeli hostages they say were killed in Israeli airstrikes.

Mia Schem, 21, reunites with her family after her release from Gaza, November 30, 2023

Smoke rises over Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during the Israeli bombardment, January 22, 2024

Critics have also urged the Israeli government not to risk antagonizing Hamas with new policies, such as expanded death penalty provisions, that they believe could further endanger the lives of hostages.

They remain a minority voice in Israel, with only 1.8 percent of Israelis today believing the IDF is using too much firepower in Gaza.