Palestinian fighters could be given amnesty under a deal to disarm Hamas in Gaza, the US suggested on Tuesday.
A US official told Reuters that, as part of Israeli and US plans to pressure Hamas to disarm, they assumed there would be an amnesty extended to Palestinian fighters who gave up their weapons.
“We are listening to many of their people talk about disarming. We think they’re going to,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
“If they don’t disarm, then they’ve breached the deal. We think disarmament comes along with some sort of amnesty and candidly we think we have a very, very good programme to disarm.”
The comments come as France called for the implementation of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan after the remains of the last Israeli captive were removed from the Palestinian enclave.
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Pascal Confavreux, spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he felt “immense relief” over the the fact that “there are now no more hostages in Gaza”.
“Entering the second phase of the peace plan for Gaza must now allow us to move from a ceasefire to a lasting peace, the massive delivery of humanitarian aid, and the re-establishment of a credible political horizon for achieving a two-state solution, with both states living in peace and security,” he wrote on X.
The truce, secured by US President Donald Trump in October, was intended to end more than two years of genocide in Gaza, during which Israeli forces killed more than 71,660 Palestinians and destroyed nearly 90 percent of the territory’s infrastructure.
There have been over 1,300 reported violations committed by Israel since the start of the ceasefire.
The second phase of the Trump plan calls for the disarmament of the Palestinian movement Hamas, the gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, which still controls more than half of the Gaza Strip, and the deployment of an international force.
Hamas said that Israel must comply with the full implementation of the ceasefire framework, particularly the entry of aid and its complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Captive swaps
On Sunday, Israel said it had found the body of the last Israeli captive left in Gaza, amid local reports of heavy shelling and bulldozing during the search.
According to the Wafa news agency, the operations to find Ran Gvili, a 24-year-old policeman, were launched on Sunday morning.
The Israeli army carried out extensive bulldozing operations in the area of al-Sanafour and around the al-Batsh cemetery, located east of Gaza City.
Several graves were desecrated during the search for Gvili, who was found east of Gaza City.
Dozens of injuries and killings in the area have been reported since Sunday as a result of heavy artillery shelling and intense gunfire from military vehicles and quadcopter drones.
On Monday evening, Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in central Gaza said it had received nine Palestinian detainees released by Israel.
“Nine Palestinian detainees from Gaza arrived at the hospital a short while ago via Red Cross teams, after the occupation released them today,” they said in a statement.
Since the ceasefire, Israeli forces have killed at least 486 people and wounded more than 1,341 others.
Israeli authorities have also continued to restrict the entry of humanitarian relief and allowed only a minimal amount of aid to enter. Tents, mobile homes and heating supplies remain banned.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
