WASHINGTON  -  Israel has proposed to Palestinian group via Qatari and Egyptian me­diators a pause in fighting of up to two months as part of a deal to free all the hostages being held in Gaza, the US news site Axios report­ed Monday. The report, citing un­named Israeli officials, said the deal would take place in multiple stages, the first of which would see the re­lease of women, men over 60 and those in critical medical condition.

Subsequent phases would in­volve the release of women sol­diers, younger civilian men, male soldiers and the bodies of dead hostages. The officials said the deal would also see the release of an as yet undetermined number of Pal­estinian prisoners being held in Is­rael, but not all of them.

The proposal does not include promises to end the war, but it would involve Israeli troops re­ducing their presence in major cities in Gaza and gradually al­lowing residents to return to the territory’s devastated north. The officials said the deal was expect­ed to take around two months to implement.