Israel and Hamas are weighing a proposed six-week pause in fighting that could see all civilian hostages in Gaza freed after 117 days in captivity, but a permanent end to the war remains elusive.
The deal – put together by US, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators – proposed a three-stage plan that would see Israel halt its military advance in Gaza for six weeks to allow Hamas to collect its hostages, sources familiar with the deal told the Washington Post.
The terrorist group will then release all civilian hostages, prioritizing children, women, the elderly, and those in need of medical attention.
The first phase will also see Hamas release the bodies of 27 hostages believed to have died in custody. Excluding the dead, Israel believes Hamas has 109 hostages in Gaza.
The second phase of the deal included the freedom of the Israeli female soldier who was also kidnapped on October 7. Unlike previous proposals that were rejected, the current agreement does not include a phase in which all IDF soldiers would be released.
The current ceasefire agreement will see the IDF suspend its military operations in Gaza for six weeks. Israeli Army/AFP via Getty Images Smoke billows over Gaza following Israeli airstrikes targeting Hamas terrorists. AFP via Getty Images
Similar to the November ceasefire agreement that saw the release of more than 100 hostages, the new agreement calls for Israel to release three Palestinian prisoners for each hostage, the source added.
With the hostages released and a six-week pause, both sides will also allow more humanitarian aid to reach refugees in Gaza and have hospitals, water services and bakeries operating again across the strip.
The details of the deal were decided during a conference in Paris over the weekend that included CIA Director William Burns, who was tapped by President Biden to help move negotiations and ease tensions between Qatar and Israel.
Along with freeing the hostages, the deal will increase aid to Gaza refugees. REUTERS Almost all of Gaza’s 2 million residents have been displaced by the war. Reuters
“We hope that in the near future we can cross the finish line; we’re closer than we’ve ever been,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, after Burns’ visit.
Despite its ambitious goal of an elusive pause in the war, the proposal was described as a bare “skeleton” said to be only two or three pages long, sources told WaPo.
Although few details are being firmed up for now, negotiators believe it is a step in the right direction that could see the right proposal presented and presented to Israel and Hamas next week.
Although Hamas has called for a deal to include a permanent ceasefire, Israel says the war will not end until the terror group is destroyed. Reuters
But it remains unclear whether either will consider the draft version as both sides have publicly flagged some of the terms laid out in the document as non-starters.
Hamas has been vocal about what it wants to see in the deal, including a complete end to the war and the freedom of all Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, confirmed the group had received the draft on Tuesday, stating that the final agreement should include “the complete withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip,” Al Jazeera reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would not release “thousands of terrorists” in exchange for hostages in Gaza. X/Israel PM
Hamas’s vision, however, is very different from Israel’s, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly rejecting the terms.
“We will not remove the IDF from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists,” Netanyahu insisted during an appearance in the West Bank on Tuesday.
“None of this is going to happen. What will happen? Absolute victory,” he repeated.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
