Mediators are awaiting an Israeli response to a new Gaza ceasefire proposal, following Hamas’s acceptance of the plan and its readiness for renewed talks to resolve nearly two years of conflict, reports 24brussels.
Throughout the war, intermittent indirect negotiations have produced two brief truces and exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, yet a lasting ceasefire remains elusive. Egypt and Qatar, with U.S. backing, have facilitated these efforts, marking frequent rounds of shuttle diplomacy aimed at overcoming the impasse.
On Monday, Egypt revealed that it and Qatar had sent Israel the new ceasefire proposal, asserting that “the ball is now in its court.”
According to the Egyptian state-affiliated outlet Al-Qahera, the deal proposes an initial 60-day truce, a partial release of hostages, the liberation of some Palestinian prisoners, and measures allowing for humanitarian aid to enter.
Despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s silence on the latest proposal, he indicated last week that Israel would accept “an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war.”
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi stated via social media that the group has “opened the door wide” to negotiation, questioning whether Netanyahu will “once again close it, as he has done in the past.” Hamas’s acceptance of the new terms coincides with mounting pressure on Netanyahu, both domestically and internationally, to conclude the conflict.
On Sunday, tens of thousands demonstrated in Tel Aviv, demanding an end to the warfare and a deal to release the remaining hostages. Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s October 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 whom the Israeli military reports are deceased.
The recent proposal emerges after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to take control of Gaza City and adjacent refugee camps, raising concerns that renewed military action will exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis in the region.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, an opponent of any cessation of hostilities, condemned the ceasefire plan, warning of a “tragedy” should Netanyahu concede to Hamas.
‘Unbearable’
According to Gaza’s civil defense agency, Israeli strikes have resulted in 27 deaths across the territory on Tuesday.
Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal characterized the situation as “very dangerous and unbearable” in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighborhoods of Gaza City, noting that “artillery shelling continues intermittently.”
The Israeli military has refrained from commenting on specific troop maneuvers, stating only that it is “operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities” and taking “feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.”
Due to media restrictions in Gaza and access challenges within the territory, independent verification of casualty figures and details from both the civil defense agency and the Israeli military remains unfeasible.
Hussein al-Dairi, a 44-year-old Sabra resident, reported that “tanks are firing shells and mortars, and drones are firing bullets and missiles” in the area. “We heard on the news that Hamas had agreed to a truce, but the occupation is escalating the war against us, the civilians,” he lamented.
The conflict, sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack, resulted in 1,219 casualties, predominantly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. In contrast, more than 62,004 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive, most of whom are civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza, which is deemed reliable by the United Nations.
(vib)
