Israel has submitted a hostage deal proposal that veers from the principles Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted are required for Jerusalem to end the war in Gaza, three sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.

Netanyahu’s principles — adopted by the cabinet on August 8 — are (1) the disarmament of Hamas; (2) the release of all remaining hostages at the same time (3) the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip; (4) Israeli security control over the Strip; and (5) the establishment of an alternative civilian government that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.

While the one-page offer Israel presented to a visiting Egyptian negotiating team late last month includes elements that are in line with those principles, there are some notable differences, according to an Israeli official, an Arab diplomat and a third source briefed on the offer.

The proposal, which has not been previously published, envisions Israel first declaring the start of a six-month process to “end the war” — something Netanyahu has until now refused to do until after his conditions are met.

The source familiar with the matter said the Israeli proposal was submitted after the US privately leaned on Netanyahu to wind down the war. US President Donald Trump claimed on August 25 that the conflict would reach a “conclusive ending” in two to three weeks. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, has offered a more modest timeline of the war ending by the close of 2025.

The Arab diplomat claimed that the Israeli proposal doesn’t go far enough and includes a number of conditions that have prevented a deal to date, adding that mediators had a better chance of securing a deal if the US elevated its pressure on Israel from private to public.

Still, the diplomat said that Arab mediators were taking the Israeli proposal into consideration as they continue their efforts to broker a ceasefire and hostage-release deal.

The Israeli official said elements of the offer are also present in another framework crafted by Witkoff in recent days.

As with previous offers discussed throughout the war, the latest Israeli proposal is split into three phases.

However, the timeline of each phase within the six-month framework is kept vague, with the Israeli official saying the proposal would serve as the basis for another round of indirect talks with Hamas.

Moreover, rather than spacing out the hostage releases throughout, the Israeli offer envisions them being freed in the 48 hours immediately following the declaration of the commencement of the six-month framework. There are currently 48 hostages left in Gaza, including at least 20 who Israel believes are still alive.

The offer envisions 130 Palestinian security prisoners serving life sentences released for every 10 hostages, a ratio that tries to split the difference between what the sides have agreed to in previous negotiations.

Notably, though, the Israeli proposal recognizes that Hamas doesn’t know where all the bodies of hostages are located and gives the group additional time to find and return them.

The first phase also envisions Hamas disarming from its heavy weaponry before giving up its light weaponry during the second phase.

While Hamas has expressed willingness to give up governing control of the Strip, it has pledged never to give up its weapons. The Arab diplomat claimed the corresponding terms of the Israeli proposal were poison pills, given that Jerusalem will want to verify the disarmament process itself in a process that could well take years.

The third phase of the deal does envision an Israeli withdrawal to a one-kilometer buffer zone around the enclave, including the Philadelphi Corridor land strip between Gaza and Egypt.

As for the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the proposal envisioned it being operated according to a future agreement between Israel, the US and Egypt.

While the proposed Israeli withdrawal does not meet the terms that Hamas has demanded until now, it still would likely foreclose the possibility of re-establishing Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, an aspiration of Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners. The prime minister has publicly ruled out reestablishing settlements, but has also effectively kept the option on the table through the manner in which he has prosecuted the war. The IDF has cleared Palestinians out of some three-quarters of the Strip.

Still, the proposed Israel withdrawal depends on a series of conditions, including the completion of Hamas’s disarmament, the return of any remaining hostages’ bodies, the implementation of a “de-radicalization” process in Gaza, and the capacity of a new Palestinian administrative body to begin governing the Strip.

Unlike the August 8 principles passed by the cabinet, this part of the proposal — also backed by Netanyahu — doesn’t specifically rule out the West Bank-based PA, instead stipulating that the exact identity of the governing body would be subsequently discussed.

Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners back collapsing the PA entirely. But doing so would likely strip Israel of any chance to secure support from neighboring Arab countries in the postwar reconstruction and stabilization of the Gaza Strip, given that those countries have conditioned such backing on a role for Ramallah.

The Israeli proposal even highlights Jerusalem’s pursuit of donations from Arab states, while specifying that those financial transfers must be overseen by the US.

Finally, the Israeli withdrawal is also conditioned on Jerusalem retaining the right to militarily intervene in the Gaza Strip in self-defense, the sources added.

Notably, the offer doesn’t mention offering Palestinians the ability to leave the Strip. Earlier this year, Netanyahu added that concept to his conditions for ending the war, though it wasn’t included in the principles passed by the cabinet on August 8.

Israel has framed the idea as a “voluntary migration,” and it received significant tailwind after Trump in February declared his desire for the US to take over Gaza before distancing himself from the initiative. But critics argue that it is a euphemism for ethnically cleansing the Strip of its Palestinians.

The Arab diplomat said Arab mediators were still working to convince Israel to go along with the phased framework Hamas said it accepted on August 18.

Israel has not officially responded to that proposal, but has strongly indicated it is not interested.

While the diplomat said mediators were pushing Hamas to make further concessions, the ultimate result would more likely be closer to the phased framework crafted last month by Egypt and Qatar than the latest Israeli proposal.

Jerusalem does not appear too attached to its own proposal either, with a source close to Netanyahu telling The Times of Israel on Sunday that the premier is seriously considering a separate proposal crafted by Washington in recent days.