Cairo: In a sign of development in the ongoing truce talks over the war in Gaza, the Palestinian militant group Hamas has accepted a US proposal to begin talks on releasing Israeli hostages, 16 days after the first phase of an agreement aimed at ending the Gaza war, a senior Hamas source told Reuters on Saturday. This came a day after a team of Israeli negotiators are set to resume peace talks next week over a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal, according to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hamas dropped a demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before signing the agreement, and would allow negotiations to achieve that throughout the six-week first phase, according to the source speaking on condition of anonymity. A Palestinian official close to the peace efforts said the proposal could lead to a framework agreement that can end the nine-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, if Israel accepts.
A source in Israel's negotiating team, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was now a real chance of achieving a ceasefire agreement, in sharp contrast to past instances in the nine-month-old war in Gaza, when Israel said conditions attached by Hamas were unacceptable. A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
What is the ceasefire deal?
For months, negotiators from the US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to mediate a ceasefire. Hamas says it wants a permanent end to the war in the Gaza Strip and Israeli withdrawal from the enclave of 2.3 million people. Both Israel and Hamas have been reluctant to fully endorse a US-backed plan that would return hostages, clear the way for an end to the war, and commence a rebuilding effort of the decimated territory.
As per the new proposal by US President Biden, the first phase of the peace effort would include a six-week ceasefire, where Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza population centres, and hostages, including the elderly and women, would be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Palestinian civilians would return to Gaza, including northern Gaza, and 600 trucks would bring humanitarian aid into Gaza each day, Biden said.
In the second phase, Hamas and Israel would negotiate terms for a permanent end to hostilities. "The ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue," the president said, a new development. The third phase would include a major reconstruction plan for Gaza. Biden said the proposal has been relayed to Hamas by Qatar.
The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 38,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, since Hamas attacked southern Israeli cities on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages, according to official Israeli figures. A regional source said the US administration was trying hard to secure a deal before the presidential election in November.
Strikes continue in Gaza
As truce talks make progress, separate Israeli airstrikes killed at least six people Friday in central Gaza, including two children at a home and at least one United Nations worker, Palestinian hospital officials and first responders said. Four out of every five people in Gaza — nearly 2 million Palestinians — have been driven into the territory's centre by expanding Israeli military offensives and evacuation orders.
Violence also flared Friday in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces killed seven people in a raid and an airstrike, according to Palestinian health officials. Israeli soldiers “encircled a building where terrorists have barricaded themselves in” and the soldiers exchanged fire with those inside, while an airstrike “struck several armed terrorists” in the area.
Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order have curtailed humanitarian aid efforts, causing widespread hunger and sparking fears of famine. The top UN court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies.
(with inputs from agencies)
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