CAIRO — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has 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 made on Sunday 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 as Israel continues 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.
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.
At home, Iranian leaders played down their importance, saying the strikes had caused only limited damage.
President Masoud Pezeshkian told his cabinet Iran did not want war but would deliver “an appropriate response”.
According to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Tehran had “received indications” hours before the attack. US news site Axios reported earlier that Israel had provided a warning so as to “prevent a wider escalation”.
With traders relieved that Israel’s strikes avoided Iran’s energy infrastructure, oil prices tumbled Monday, falling as much as five percent before paring some of their losses.
