Egypt proposes two-day Gaza truce in hope of full ceasefire

CAIRO, Egypt — Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday proposed a two-day truce in Gaza and limited hostage exchange aimed at securing "a complete ceasefire" after more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas.

The proposal includes exchanging four Israeli hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and would be followed by more negotiations within 10 days, Sisi said at a news conference in Cairo.

He did not say whether the plan had been formally presented to either Israel or Hamas.

Sisi's intervention came with Israel continuing to pound the Palestinian territory while also fighting a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and having just launched air strikes on its major foe Iran.

The strikes on Saturday, the second time Israel has retaliated against Iranian ballistic missile attacks, triggered global calls for restraint.

The UN Security Council will meet on Monday at Iran's request, with Tehran calling for the body to condemn the strikes that killed four soldiers.

At home, Iranian leaders played down their importance, saying the strikes had caused only limited damage.

President Masoud Pezeshkian told his cabinet Iran did not want war but would deliver "an appropriate response".

According to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Tehran had "received indications" hours before the attack. US news site Axios reported earlier that Israel had provided a warning so as to "prevent a wider escalation".

Israel launched the strikes in retaliation for an October 1 missile attack by Iran, which was a response to the killings of Tehran-aligned militant leaders and an Iranian commander.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation "was precise and powerful, achieving all of its objectives".

Netanyahu, speaking at a memorial event in Jerusalem for Hamas's October 7 attack that sparked the war, was interrupted by shouting from relatives of victims in the crowd.

There has been public and diplomatic pressure on Netanyahu to do more to strike a deal to secure the release of the remaining captives held in Gaza.

Egypt, alongside Qatar and the United States, has for months been mediating indirect talks with little success.

Israeli spy chief