Negotiations propose 70-day Gaza truce

GAZA, May 26 (AFP): A Palestinian source familiar with negotiations aimed at securing a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza said Monday that a new proposal involved the release of 10 hostages, a 70-day ceasefire and a partial Israeli withdrawal.
The outline of the new potential deal comes as Israel ramps up its offensive in the Palestinian territory, and follows previous rounds of talks that have failed to reach a breakthrough ever since a two-month ceasefire fell apart in mid-March.
"The new proposal, which is considered a development of the path and vision of US envoy Steve Witkoff, includes the release of 10 living Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a 70-day truce, a partial withdrawal from the Gaza Strip (and) the release of a number of Palestinian prisoners," the source close to negotiations told AFP.
The source added that mediators presented the proposal "over the past few days", without specifying whether it came from the United States, Egypt or Qatar, all of which have been involved in the ceasefire talks throughout the war.
The proposal would involve the release of "five living Israeli hostages during the first week of the agreement's implementation, and five others before the end of the truce period".
Rescuers said devastating Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 52 people on Monday, 33 of them in a school turned shelter.
The civil defence agency said many of the casualties at the school in Gaza City were children, while the Israeli military said the site was housing "key terrorists".
Israel has stepped up a renewed offensive to destroy Hamas, drawing international condemnation as aid trickles in following a nearly three-month blockade that has sparked severe food and medical shortages.
World leaders meeting in Spain called for an end to the "inhumane" and "senseless" war, while aid groups said the trickle of aid is not nearly enough to staunch the hunger and health crises.
In Gaza City, civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said that an early-morning Israeli strike on the Fahmi Al-Jarjawi school, where displaced people were sheltering, killed "at least 33, with dozens of injured, mostly children, including several women".
Spain hosts European, Arab nations to pressure Israel
on Gaza
The international community should look at sanctions against Israel to stop the war in Gaza, Spain's foreign minister said, as European and Arab nations gathered in Madrid Sunday to urge an end to its offensive.
Some of Israel's long-standing allies have added their voices to growing international pressure after it expanded military operations against Gaza's Hamas rulers, whose 2023 attack on Israel sparked the devastating war.
A two-month aid blockade has worsened shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine in the Palestinian territory, stoking fears of famine.
Aid organisations say the trickle of supplies Israel has recently allowed to enter falls far short of needs.
The talks in Madrid aim to stop Israel's "inhumane" and "senseless" war in Gaza, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters before the meeting opened.