A new diplomatic opening emerged in August 2025 when Hamas accepted an Egyptian-Qatari proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and the phased release of some of the hostages still held in the territory. Israel, however, had not formally accepted the proposal and was publicly insisting that any agreement ending the war secure the release of all remaining hostages and meet its other conditions.
The proposal broadly revived a U.S.-backed framework discussed earlier in the summer. It envisaged the release of 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others during a 60-day truce, alongside the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, increased humanitarian assistance, limited Israeli troop withdrawals, and negotiations over a permanent ceasefire.
The gap between the parties was therefore not simply over whether to pause the fighting. It involved the sequencing of hostage releases, the conditions for ending the war, Israeli military withdrawal, Hamas's future and disarmament, and guarantees that negotiations during a temporary truce would lead to a more durable arrangement.
Hamas Accepts the 60-Day Proposal
Hamas said it accepted the latest proposal without requesting additional changes. The plan was mediated by Egypt and Qatar and was closely related to the framework promoted earlier by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
Under the proposed arrangement, 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 deceased hostages would be returned during the truce. Negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire and resolving the fate of the remaining hostages would take place during the 60-day period.
Hamas official Taher al-Nunu characterized the proposal as a partial agreement intended to lead to a comprehensive one. That description reflected Hamas's position that an interim ceasefire needed to provide a pathway toward a permanent end to the war rather than simply pause hostilities before they resumed.
Qatar said the proposal was very close to the earlier Witkoff framework, although important implementation details remained subject to negotiation. Previous rounds of talks had repeatedly stalled over the terms of an Israeli withdrawal, guarantees concerning an end to the war, hostage releases, and the future of Hamas.
How the Proposed Exchange Would Work
The framework called for a phased release rather than the simultaneous return of every hostage. Earlier versions of the U.S.-backed proposal provided for eight living hostages to be released on the first day and two more later in the truce, with the remains of 18 deceased hostages returned in stages.
Israel, in exchange, would release Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Humanitarian aid would also be increased, while Israeli forces would make agreed withdrawals from parts of Gaza. The precise prisoner lists, withdrawal maps, security arrangements and guarantees were among the details requiring agreement.
Crucially, the proposal was a ceasefire framework rather than a final peace settlement. Even if implemented, negotiations would still have been required over the remaining hostages, the future presence of Israeli forces in Gaza, Hamas's weapons and political role, postwar governance, and the conditions for permanently ending hostilities.
Israel Insists on the Release of All Hostages
At the time, Israel said it wanted all remaining hostages returned and maintained that the war could not end without conditions that included Hamas's disarmament. Israeli officials said 50 hostages remained in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had also said Israel sought the demilitarization of Gaza and a security arrangement that prevented Hamas from rebuilding its military capabilities. Those demands went substantially beyond the immediate hostage-release provisions of the proposed 60-day truce.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was among the Israeli coalition figures opposing a partial agreement, arguing that such a deal could leave some hostages in Gaza while interrupting Israel's military campaign.
At the same time, Netanyahu faced pressure from hostage families and large demonstrations inside Israel calling for an agreement that would return the captives. The competing demands illustrated the domestic political pressures surrounding the negotiations without determining what decision the government would ultimately make.
Military Operations Continued During the Diplomatic Push
Gaza children were expected to arrive in the UK for medical support as the humanitarian consequences of the war continued alongside the ceasefire negotiations.
Israel was simultaneously preparing an expanded operation in Gaza City. The prospect of a larger offensive added urgency to the negotiations and prompted further displacement as Palestinians left areas facing intensified military activity.
Israeli leaders argued that military pressure could help secure the hostages' release and weaken Hamas. Hamas and other critics of the operation disputed that approach, while hostage families warned that expanded fighting could put captives at greater risk. These were competing assessments rather than independently established outcomes.
Hostage Families Press for an Agreement
Families of hostages continued to press the Israeli government to prioritize an agreement. Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan was being held in Gaza, publicly accused Netanyahu of imposing conditions that obstructed a deal. Her accusation represented the family's assessment of the government's negotiating strategy rather than an independently established finding about Netanyahu's motives.
For the families, the distinction between a partial agreement and an all-hostage agreement posed an especially difficult question: a phased deal could return some captives relatively quickly, but it could also leave others dependent on subsequent negotiations that might fail.
Gaza's Humanitarian Crisis Raised the Stakes
The negotiations unfolded amid an increasingly severe humanitarian emergency. By August 2025, Gaza's Health Ministry reported that more than 62,000 Palestinians had been killed since the start of Israel's military campaign. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its overall death toll, although its records identify individual fatalities.
The war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. Israel subsequently launched a large-scale military campaign in Gaza.
Food insecurity had also deteriorated sharply. A later Integrated Food Security Phase Classification assessment released on August 22, 2025 concluded that famine conditions, with reasonable evidence, had existed in Gaza Governorate as of August 15. The assessment said more than half a million people across the Gaza Strip were facing catastrophic food-security conditions and projected further deterioration without sustained humanitarian access and a cessation of hostilities.
That finding was published after the ceasefire proposal discussed here and therefore represents later humanitarian context rather than information that negotiators had from the report at the time.
What Happened After the August Proposal
The August initiative did not immediately produce the comprehensive agreement sought by mediators. The war and negotiations continued, and the diplomatic framework changed substantially over the following weeks.
In October 2025, Israel and Hamas reached a separate first-phase ceasefire and hostage-release agreement after indirect negotiations in Egypt, with the United States, Qatar, Egypt and Turkey playing roles in the diplomatic effort. That later agreement included a ceasefire, an Israeli troop pullback to an agreed line, and exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The remaining living hostages covered by that agreement were subsequently released, while the return and identification of deceased hostages' remains continued under separate implementation procedures. Major questions concerning Gaza's longer-term governance, security arrangements, reconstruction and the political future of the territory remained subjects of negotiation.
Why the August Negotiations Mattered
The August 2025 proposal demonstrated that the central obstacle was not a simple choice between accepting or rejecting a ceasefire. Israel and Hamas differed over how a temporary truce would connect to the release of every hostage, a permanent cessation of hostilities, Israeli withdrawal, Hamas's disarmament and Gaza's postwar arrangements.
Those unresolved questions prevented the 60-day framework from becoming an immediate comprehensive settlement. The later October agreement showed that negotiations could eventually produce a different mechanism for a ceasefire and hostage releases, while leaving broader political and security questions unresolved.
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