Hamas will soon send a delegation to Cairo to “conclude ongoing discussions on a ceasefire agreement” in the war in the Gaza Strip, the leader of Hamas said on Thursday, raising hopes of progress in the stalled ceasefire effort.
The latest ceasefire proposal, which the Biden administration has pushed hard in recent days, comes after nearly seven months of devastating war. The deal would include a week-long temporary truce – the exact duration of which is unclear – and the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners in Israel. It would also enable the return of civilians to severely depopulated northern Gaza and enable increased aid delivery to the territory.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas’s political wing, said the group was studying Israel’s latest proposals in a “positive spirit” and included some concessions from Israel. A Hamas delegation will soon travel to Egypt to seek an agreement that “fulfills the demands of our people and ends the aggression,” according to a statement from the group.
Less than a day earlier, Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told Lebanese television that “our position on the current negotiating document is negative.” But Hamas’s press office later said the group had not yet stated a formal position. , Hamdan’s comments were not an outright rejection of the proposal.
Israel’s war cabinet met late Thursday to discuss negotiations and Israel’s planned invasion of Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where about a million people have taken refuge, according to an Israeli official who was not authorized to communicate. Interviewed by the media and requested anonymity.
The war cabinet meeting comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces competing pressures from Israel’s different political factions over the future course of the war. Earlier in the day, he hinted at internal discord in comments he made during a ceremony commemorating the deaths of Jewish militiamen in Palestine before the creation of the state of Israel.
“There were and still are differences between us,” Mr. Netanyahu said briefly. “We will do whatever it takes to win and overwhelm our enemies, including Rafah,” he said later in his speech.
The anticipated offensive is a seemingly intractable sticking point in ceasefire talks.
“If the enemy carries out Operation Rafah, negotiations will stop,” Hamdan said on Wednesday. “The resistance will not negotiate under fire.”
Complex ceasefire talks have dragged on for months, with each item changing and several others changing as well. To complicate matters further, Israel and the United States do not talk directly to Hamas, which they consider a terrorist organization, but instead communicate through officials in Egypt and Qatar.
The Biden administration has pressured the Israeli government to abandon the idea of a large-scale invasion of Rafah, warning that it would cause massive civilian casualties and instead rely on surgical efforts to kill or capture Hamas leaders and warrior. A ground offensive could damage Israel’s strained relations with Washington and its international standing, which is already damaged by its warring conduct.
some members Mr Netanyahu’s coalition has threatened to withdraw if Operation Rafah is suspended. Israeli officials have consistently stressed that an offensive would be launched with the goal of rooting out what they said was the Hamas camp there and destroying it as a fighting force.
Netanyahu said earlier this week that Rafah’s incursion would happen “with or without a ceasefire.”
During a visit to Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken made it clear that Hamas had a responsibility to accept Israel’s offer. “We are determined to achieve a ceasefire and get the hostages home, and do it now, and the only reason why we can’t do that is Hamas,” he said.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid put the spotlight on Netanyahu, saying this week that the prime minister had “no political excuse” not to reach a ceasefire quickly.
Hamas insists that any deal would eventually lead to a permanent ceasefire and not just a temporary cessation of fighting – a position that Israel rejects as Hamas bids for time to re-establish itself as a governing and military force. The Biden administration is hopeful that a moratorium could be the first step toward a lasting end to the fighting.
Israel softened some of its stance this week.
It agreed to allow Palestinians to return en masse to northern Gaza during the first phase of the ceasefire, after previously insisting on screening returnees and restricting their movement. It also dropped its demand for the release of 40 hostages – female civilians and soldiers, as well as those who are sick or elderly – after Hamas said none of the 40 hostages were still alive. The latest proposal lowers that number to 33. It’s unclear how many Palestinians Israel would be willing to release in exchange.
According to the Israeli government, some 250 people were kidnapped and taken back to Gaza during the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel. More than 100 people were released during a week-long ceasefire in November, but Israeli officials said they believed more than 30 people, possibly more, were dead.
Israel said the Oct. 7 attack killed about 1,200 people. Gaza health officials say subsequent Israeli bombing and incursions have killed more than 34,000 people and injured far more, displaced most of the enclave’s 2.2 million people and destroyed many people’s homes.
Thomas Fuller reported from San Francisco. Edward Wong and Damien Cave Contributed reporting.
