Mediators await Israeli response to new Gaza ceasefire proposal

BBC News

13 hours ago

Arab mediators are awaiting a formal response from Israel after Hamas said it had accepted a new proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.The plan was presented by Qatar and Egypt, which are trying to avert a major new Israeli offensive to occupy Gaza fully.Qatar said it was "almost identical" to a US proposal for a 60-day truce, during which around half of 50 hostages held in Gaza - 20 of whom are believed to be alive - would be handed over and the two sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest.In recent days, Israel's government has said it would no longer accept a partial deal - only a comprehensive one that would see all the hostages freed.
Local media quoted a senior Israeli official saying: "Israel's position hasn't changed - release of all hostages and fulfilment of other conditions defined for ending the war."Later this week, the Israeli cabinet is expected to approve the military's plan to occupy Gaza City, where intensifying Israeli strikes have already prompted thousands of people to flee.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel's intention to conquer all of Gaza - including the areas where most of its 2.1 million Palestinian residents have sought refuge - after indirect talks with Hamas on a ceasefire deal broke down last month.
On Monday night, a Hamas statement announced that the armed group and other Palestinian factions had approved a ceasefire proposal presented by Egyptian and Qatari mediators to their delegations in Cairo the previous day.Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told Al-Araby TV that they had not sought any amendments to the proposal, which he described as "a partial deal leading to a comprehensive deal".He also emphasised that on the first day of its implementation, negotiations would begin with the aim of agreeing a permanent ceasefire."We hope that the 60 days of ceasefire will be sufficient to conclude a final agreement that will completely end this war," he said.Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, told reporters in Doha on Tuesday that the proposal was "98%" similar to the one presented by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff."I won't go into the details of the language that is on the table right now. But what I can say is that it is very close, almost identical to what was there on the table," Ansari said."It is within the confines of the Witkoff plan... It's a continuation of that process. Obviously, it's in the details where the devil lies."Witkoff had proposed a 60-day truce that would see Hamas release 10 living hostages and the bodies of 18 dead hostages in two phases, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli jails. He also said that negotiations on a final agreement to end the war would begin on the first day of the deal.Israel accepted Witkoff's plan, but Hamas rejected it, partly because it did not include a guarantee that the temporary ceasefire would lead to a permanent one.
Israeli media reported that Israeli officials were examining the new proposal and Hamas's response.According to public broadcaster Kan, Netanyahu has not ruled out the possibility of a partial deal despite his recent statements that he will only accept a comprehensive deal.On Saturday night, his office put out a statement saying that Israel would "agree to a deal on condition that all the hostages are released in one go, and in accordance with our conditions for ending the war".Those conditions included the disarming of Hamas, the demilitarisation of Gaza, Israeli control of the Gaza perimeter, and the installation of a non-Hamas and non-Palestinian Authority governance, it added.Netanyahu said in a video on Monday that he had discussed with senior Israeli military commanders their "plans regarding Gaza City and the completion of our missions"."Like you, I hear the reports in the media, and from them you can get one impression - Hamas is under immense pressure," he added.US President Donald Trump meanwhile wrote on social media: "We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be."However, the families of hostages fear the new offensive in Gaza City could endanger those being held there.On Sunday night, hundreds of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv to demand that their government agree a deal with Hamas to end the war now and bring all the hostages home. Netanyahu accused the demonstrators of hardening Hamas's negotiating position.The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.At least 62,004 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.Most of Gaza's population has also been displaced multiple times; more than 90% of homes are estimated to be damaged or destroyed; the healthcare, water, sanitation and hygiene systems have collapsed; and UN-backed global food security experts have warned that the "worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out" due to food shortages.