Cairo: The Palestinian militant group is considering a new framework proposed by Egypt that has called for it to release as many as 33 hostages abducted from Israel on October 7 last year in exchange for a pause in prolonged hostilities, an Israeli source familiar with the negotiations told CNN. This came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Hamas has received an "extraordinarily generous" proposal.
The proposal, which Israel helped craft but did not fully agree to, comes at a time of rising international alarm over a possible Israeli invasion in the city of Rafah in Gaza, which has become the last refuge for over a million Palestinians fleeing the devastating war in the rest of the territory. The US, Israel's closest ally, opposes the invasion on humanitarian grounds, straining relations between the allies. Israel faces pressure to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a cease-fire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza.
“Only a small strike is all it takes to force everyone to leave Palestine," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asserted to the opening session of the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia, adding that he believed an invasion would happen within days. This prompted another conversation between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where the former said his administration would not support the invasion without a credible, appropriate humanitarian plan.
What does the latest deal propose?
The latest proposal by Egypt is laid into two phases - the first of which calls for the release of 20 to 33 hostages to be released over several weeks in exchange for the pause and the release of Palestinian prisoners. The second phase entails what sources describe as the "restoration of sustainable calm", during which the remaining hostages, captive Israeli soldiers and the bodies of hostages will be exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners.
The Israeli diplomatic source familiar with the talks said the reference to sustainable calm was "a way to agree to a permanent ceasefire without calling it that." This is possibly a step towards ending the devastating war, where more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed and most of the territory has been flattened, after months of deadlock. However, a failure to agree would deepen Israeli presence in Gaza.
Israel is awaiting a response from Hamas, which is expected to meet Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Monday, the sources said. A working-level Israeli delegation of Mossad, Shin Bet and Israeli military officials is expected to travel to Cairo on Tuesday, the Israeli source and another Israeli official said. A response from Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, is expected within days.
'Extraordinarily generous' proposal
US Secretary of State Blinken discussed the "extraordinarily generous" proposal for a ceasefire presented to Hamas by Israel on Monday. "In this moment the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They (Hamas) have to decide and they have to decide quickly. I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision," he told World Economic Forum (WEF) President Børge Brende in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, also present in Riyadh, shared a similar sentiment, expressing optimism about the proposal's acceptance by both Israel and Hamas. "There is a proposal on the table, up to the two sides to consider and accept but certainly the objective is a ceasefire, a permanent ceasefire and dealing with the humanitarian conditions," Shoukry told a panel at the WEF in Riyadh on Monday.
Hamas has maintained that a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal are prerequisites for any agreement. Conversely, Israel has affirmed its commitment to continue its operation in Gaza until Hamas is eradicated. However, Israel has recently agreed to Hamas's demand for unrestricted movement of Palestinians to northern Gaza, a concession pivotal in advancing negotiations.
Meanwhile, White House National Security Council communications adviser John Kirby said Israel has assured that no invasion of Rafah would occur until concerns raised by the Biden administration were addressed. "They've assured us that they won't go into Rafah until we've had a chance to really share our perspectives and our concerns with them," he said.
Differences between Israel and Hamas
A senior official from key intermediary Qatar, meanwhile, urged Israel and Hamas to show “more commitment and more seriousness" in negotiations. Qatar, which hosts Hamas' headquarters in Doha, was instrumental along with the US and Egypt in helping negotiate a brief halt to the fighting in November that led to the release of dozens of hostages. But in a sign of frustration, Qatar this month said that it was reassessing its role.
However, a top Hamas political official recently told the Associated Press that the militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders. The suggestion that Hamas would disarm appeared to be a significant concession by the militant group officially committed to Israel’s destruction.
Khalil al-Hayya, a high-ranking Hamas official who has represented the Palestinian militants in negotiations for a cease-fire and hostage exchange, struck a sometimes defiant and other times conciliatory tone. He said Hamas wants to join the Palestine Liberation Organization, headed by the rival Fatah faction, to form a unified government for Gaza and the West Bank. He said Hamas would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the international resolutions,” along Israel’s pre-1967 borders.
The war was sparked by Hamas' attack on October 7 into southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities, who say another 250 people were taken hostage. Hamas and other groups are holding about 130 people, including the remains of about 30, Israeli authorities say. Israel's retaliatory assault on Hamas has killed more than 34,000 people, most of them women and children, according to health authorities in Gaza.
(with inputs from agencies)
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