Egypt offers peace deal as Israeli strikes kill 65 more

Egypt has put forward a new proposal aimed at restoring the Gaza ceasefire deal, security sources told media on Monday, as Palestinian health authorities said Israeli strikes have killed at least 65 people in the enclave in the past 24 hours.

The proposal, made last week, follows an escalation in violence after Israel resumed air and ground operations against Hamas last Tuesday, effectively ending a two-month period of relative calm.

Health officials said Israel has killed nearly 700 Palestinians since it resumed its attacks, including at least 400 women and children. Hamas said several of its senior political and security officials had also been killed.

A Hamas official told the media that “several proposals are being discussed with the mediators to bridge the gap and to resume negotiations to reach common ground that would pave the way to start the second phase of the agreement.”

The sources said the Egyptian proposal also includes a timeline for Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza, backed by US guarantees, in exchange for the hostages’ release.

Hamas has accused Israel of breaking the terms of the January ceasefire agreement but has said it is willing to negotiate a truce and was studying proposals from US Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said it would “reduce its footprint” in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli tank strike hit one of its compounds last week, killing one staffer and wounding five others.

Israel has denied it was behind the March 19 explosion at the UN guesthouse in central Gaza. The UN Secretary-General’sspokesman

Stéphane Dujarric said that “based on the information currently available,” the strikes on the site “were caused by an Israeli tank.”

Plan accepted by US, Hamas

The Egyptian plan calls for Hamas to release five Israeli hostages each week, with Israel implementing the second phase of the ceasefire after the first week, two security sources said. Hamas is still holding 59 hostages, with 24 of them thought to be alive. Both the US and Hamas agreed to the proposal, but Israel has not yet responded. The sources said the Egyptian proposal also includes a timeline for Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza, backed by US guarantees, in exchange for the hostages’ release.