MIDDLE EAST mediators are working on a proposal to end the Israel-Hamas war that would include a five to seven-year truce and the release of all remaining hostages, officials said yesterday. 

This comes as an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City killed 23 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.

Egypt and Qatar are still developing the proposal, which would include the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from the entire strip and the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to an Egyptian official and a Hamas official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Egyptian source said that the proposed truce, with international guarantees, would last between five and seven years, and that a committee of politically independent technocrats would govern Gaza — a measure Hamas has accepted.

The Hamas official said that the militant group is open to a long-term truce that includes the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and international guarantees, naming Russia, China, Turkey or the United Nations security council as possible guarantors.

Turkey, a regional heavyweight which has had tense ties with Israel in recent years, recently joined the negotiations, the Egyptian official said.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials. 

But Israel has often ruled out any arrangement that would allow Hamas to preserve its influence in Gaza and rearm even though the resistance group was elected by the Palestinians in the enclave. 

The US has said that it fully supports Israel’s position and has pressed Hamas to accept a temporary truce in which it would immediately release several hostages in return for vague promises of talks on a more permanent ceasefire. 

Hamas has rejected those proposals and says that it won’t disarm as long as Israel continues to occupy Palestinian territory.

The Hamas official said that the group does not trust either Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or the US after they shattered the existing ceasefire agreement, which had facilitated the release of over 30 hostages.

The Egyptian official said mediators had the impression that President Donald Trump wants a deal before he visits Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in May.

Meanwhile, an overnight strike hit a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City, killing at least 23 people, according to Zaher al-Waheidi from the Gaza Health Ministry.

The Civil Defence, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, said that it recovered another four bodies from strikes on two homes in the same area. It said there are more people trapped under the rubble.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which claims to only target militants.