Hamas has proposed a ceasefire plan that would see a four-and-a-half-month truce.The armed group wants a full withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the war after three 45-day truce periods.

.The offer is likely to be unacceptable to Israel’s prime minister, who has called for “total victory” in Gaza.

A source close to the negotiations told Reuters that the Hamas counterproposal did not require a guarantee of a permanent ceasefire at the outset, but that an end to the war would have to be agreed on during the truce before the final hostages were freed.