Hope Rises for New Talks on Gaza Cease-fire as Israel Scales Back Demands
Three Israeli officials reported on Monday that Israeli negotiators have reduced the number hostages they would like Hamas release in the first phase of the truce.
The cease-fire negotiations have been in a standstill for weeks. Two officials said that a delegation of Israelis at a middle level was now planning to travel to Cairo to resume the talks, but only if Hamas agreed to come. Two officials spoke under the condition of anonymity in order to discuss a sensitive matter.
Hamas has not responded to a question about whether or not it will send representatives to Cairo. On Monday, a senior Hamas official posted on social media that the group is studying a new Israeli offer.
Antony J. Blinken said that the responsibility now lies with Hamas. He was in Saudi Arabia Monday to meet with Arab diplomats.
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Blinken told an economic forum in Riyadh that Hamas had a proposal from Israel which was extraordinarily generous. Hamas is the only thing that stands between Gazans and a ceasefire at this time.
David Cameron, British Foreign Minister, spoke at the same conference and said that the offer included a 40-day sustained cease-fire, as well as the possible release of thousands of Palestinians who are imprisoned by Israel, in exchange for Hamas’ hostages.
Sameh Shoukry said that he is “hopeful”, but he didn’t specify what the offer was or who made it.
Biden plans to meet with leaders of Egypt, Qatar and Egypt on Monday to try to increase pressure on Hamas to accept the ceasefire agreement.
Other serious obstacles could remain. These include Hamas’s demand for a cease-fire that would last forever and Israel’s determination to eradicate the militants from their last bastion, the southern city Rafah.
There was also concern about the possibility that the cease-fire negotiations could be interrupted if, as Israelis and foreign officials believed to be in the works, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against senior Israeli government officials for charges related the conflict with Hamas. These warrants could also include Hamas officials.
Hamas, along with its allies, captured 240 Israelis as well as foreigners during the deadly attack on Oct. 7, which sparked the war. Hamas exchanged 240 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails for 105 Palestinian captives during a week-long ceasefire in November.
Israel demanded in recent months that Hamas free at least 40 hostages, including women, elderly people, and seriously ill individuals, to achieve a new ceasefire. Israeli officials have said that they are now willing to accept only 33 hostages.
According to an official, the shift in attitude was partly due to the fact that Israel believes now that some of those 40 people have died while being held captive.
As expectations grew that Hamas negotiators and Israelis might be getting closer to a first truce after the November ceasefire, their fighters pressed on.
According to news agencies that published videos on Monday, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza flattened concrete structures overnight. Reuters reported that 20 people were killed in the airstrikes.
On Monday, the Israeli military released a statement stating that “fighter planes attacked terror targets in southern Gaza where terrorists were operating inside a civilian zone.”
Over one million Gazans have sought shelter in tents and shelters at Rafah from Israel’s offensive.
A survivor told a Reuters journalist, while carrying a baby that she claimed had been pulled out of the rubble, that the child seemed uninjured but that both her parents were dead.
Umm Fayez Abu Taha, a woman, said, “Look at us, with compassion and humanity.” “This is what we want.” “We’re not asking much: just end the war. Nothing more.”
Hamas rockets from Lebanon landed in northern Israel. Hamas’s Qassam Brigades released a statement saying that they had launched a “concentrated barrage of rockets” against an Israeli military base in Kiryat Shmona. Kiryat Shmona is the largest city located in Israel’s northernmost region.
Hamas has its headquarters in Gaza but many of its leaders live in exile in Lebanon where they have a large presence. Hamas, a militant group in Lebanon, has launched more rockets into northern Israel since the war began. Both groups are supported by Iran.
Hamas’ rocket barrage, which caused little damage but was still reported, was probably an attempt to show that it is “still in the fight,” according to Mohanad Hague Ali, a Carnegie Middle East Center fellow based in Beirut.
Blinken arrived in Riyadh just after sunrise and met the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal Bin Farhan. He then met with five other Arab foreign ministers, as well as top foreign policy advisors. Blinken discussed with them the challenges of the war, including getting humanitarian aid to Gaza and freeing hostages.
In a summary of the State Department, the American secretary and Saudi foreign minister discussed regional integration as well as “a path to a Palestinian State with security guarantees for Israel.” Blinken also met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia – and attended a dinner to discuss the war with officials from 5 Arab and 5 European countries. On Tuesday, he planned to visit Jordan and Israel.
The Biden administration believes that in the best case scenario, Saudi Arabia and possibly a few other Arab countries would agree to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel. Saudi Arabia will receive from the United States advanced weapons, security guarantees and a mutual defence treaty in exchange. The United States would also commit to a U.S.-led civilian nuclear program.
American and Saudi officials have said that Israel must commit to a specific timeline for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The British Foreign Minister, Cameron, stated that the conflict would end if the people who were responsible for October 7, the Hamas leaders, left Gaza.
