Hamas Says It Accepts Ceasefire Proposal

“Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas movement, conducted a telephone call with the prime minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and with the Egyptian intelligence minister, Mr Abbas Kamel, and informed them of Hamas’s approval of their proposal regarding a ceasefire agreement,” the group said in a statement published on its official website on Monday.

Sources have told Al Jazeera that the Egyptian-Qatari proposal Hamas has agreed to would include three phases, with each lasting 42 days.

A truce would begin in the first phase, along with an Israeli withdrawal from the Netzarim corridor that Israel uses to divide northern and southern Gaza.

A second phase would include the approval of a permanent cessation of military and hostile operations, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The proposal also includes a provision approving an end to the blockade of Gaza in the third phase.