JERUSALEM

Mediators are expected to present a “compromise plan” for a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, according to Israeli media on Wednesday.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said the plan will be presented on Friday, without providing details about its content.
KAN said Mossad Chief David Barnea informed mediators that Israel is ready to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border in the second phase of the cease-fire plan.

Barnea conveyed this message to mediators despite statements made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel would maintain security control over the axis.

The Philadelphi Corridor is a demilitarized zone along Egypt’s border with Gaza. Cairo rejects any Israeli military presence along the axis.

The corridor has been a sticking point in negotiations to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas.

According to KAN, Qatari and Egyptian mediators reached out to Israeli officials to explore if there is an Israeli flexibility on the corridor.

The US, Egypt and Qatar held talks in recent days “to formulate a compromise plan for a cease-fire and the release of the hostages," KAN said.

"The mediators intend to make the plan public, most likely by US President Joe Biden on Friday,” it added.

The Mossad chief is likely to travel to Qatar this week for talks, the broadcaster said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said last week that Israeli military withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor poses no security problem to Israel.

For months, the US, Qatar, and Egypt have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed and nearly 94,300 others injured, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of the enclave has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar