Particulars of the Hamas reply emerged as Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel to clinch a deal to pause hostilities, carry house the hostages and ship desperately wanted humanitarian aid to the civilian inhabitants in Gaza, which has been beneath Israeli siege and bombardment for 4 months. Israel is more likely to take problem with key facets of the Hamas response.
Below the broad framework of the deal, hashed out by negotiators from the USA, Qatar, Israel and Egypt in Paris final month, an preliminary pause in preventing would final for six weeks and convey concerning the launch of all civilian hostages held by the militant group in Gaza. Israel would launch three Palestinian prisoners for each one hostage Hamas frees.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stated Tuesday night that Hamas had delivered a “optimistic” reply after per week of deliberation, and Qatar had handed it alongside to Israel. The promising indicators Tuesday night time introduced hope to households of Israeli hostages and to civilians in Gaza who’re displaced, hungry and beneath fixed risk of Israeli assault.
However Israel and Hamas stay far aside on key facets of the framework, together with which Palestinian prisoners can be eligible for launch and whether or not Israeli troops would withdraw from elements of the Gaza Strip in the course of the pause.
Hamas has beforehand stated it desires any hostage deal to end in a everlasting cease-fire, whereas Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to combat on till “whole victory” in Gaza. The militant group’s counter-proposal is much less definitive a couple of everlasting cease-fire — one of many causes some officers conversant in the negotiations are touting progress within the talks
The textual content of the Hamas response, revealed by the Hezbollah-aligned al-Akhbar newspaper Wednesday and verified to The Washington Publish by two Hamas officers, envisions in three phases, every lasting 45 days, the discharge of Israeli hostages and the stays of Israelis who had been killed.
Within the first section, either side would pause preventing, and Hamas and different Gaza militant teams would free Israeli nonmilitary hostages, together with ladies, youngsters, and the aged and sick. In change, Hamas has demanded the discharge of all Palestinian ladies, youngsters, males over 50 years outdated and sick inmates held in Israeli prisons, along with 1,500 male Palestinian prisoners, 500 of whom Hamas would select from amongst inmates serving life or long-term sentences.
Throughout the preliminary stage, Israeli troops ought to withdraw from populated areas; a minimum of 500 vans of humanitarian assist ought to enter Gaza every day; displaced Gazans ought to have the ability to return to their houses and transfer across the strip freely; Israel ought to enable extra wounded Palestinians to hunt medical therapy overseas; and hospitals needs to be repaired and shelters constructed, in line with the Hamas counteroffer.
The second section would see militants launch all male Israeli hostages in change for added Palestinian prisoner releases and the entire withdrawal of Israel forces from Gaza. The Hamas reply says talks to pave the best way to “the return of a state of full calm” should happen earlier than this stage.
Throughout the remaining 45-day section, Hamas would return the stays of Israelis in change for the our bodies of Palestinians held by Israel.
About 100 hostages are believed to nonetheless be alive, and Israeli officers say that Hamas is holding a minimum of 31 useless our bodies. The “overwhelming majority” of the useless had been killed in the course of the Oct. 7 Hamas assault in southern Israel, in line with a spokesman for the Israel Protection Forces. Throughout a earlier pause within the preventing in November, 105 hostages — 81 Israelis and 24 international nationals — had been launched.
The Israeli authorities has been beneath intense strain from many households of hostages to carry their family members house. However different households again calls by far-right officers to proceed preventing till Hamas is eradicated from the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas response to the negotiations signifies a willingness by the motion to make some concessions: Hamas officers beforehand stated they wouldn’t talk about a hostage deal with no everlasting cease-fire as a precondition to talks. However different elements — significantly the demand that Israeli troops withdraw from the Gaza Strip after the preliminary six-week pause — are more likely to be nonstarters for Israel.
Israel has indicated it has no intention of winding down its navy marketing campaign in Gaza, which has killed greater than 27,000 folks, in line with the Gaza Well being Ministry. Protection Minister Yoav Gallant has stated repeatedly in current days that Israel will proceed its floor offensive in Rafah, the one a part of Gaza that Israeli troops haven’t but reached.
Greater than one million Palestinians are crammed into the tiny strip of land alongside the border with Egypt. Many live in unsanitary situations in tents or makeshift buildings, struggling to search out meals or obtain medical therapy. Israel has intensified its bombing of Rafah this week, with 5 assaults killing 12 folks within the space on Tuesday alone. Displaced civilians say there may be nowhere left for them to go.
Blinken’s journey to Israel caps his fifth go to to the Center East because the Oct. 7 Hamas assault killed greater than 1,200 Israelis, sparking Israel’s retaliatory warfare in Gaza. On Monday and Tuesday, Blinken met with prime officers in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar to debate efforts to succeed in a cease-fire deal and to de-escalate tensions within the area.
“There’s nonetheless plenty of work to be carried out, however we proceed to consider that an settlement is feasible and, certainly, important,” Blinken stated at a information convention in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday night.
In Israel, Blinken is scheduled to attend back-to-back conferences with Netanyahu, senior protection officers and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and is predicted to fulfill with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas within the West Financial institution.
The Biden administration is beneath important home and worldwide strain to push Israel to finish the warfare or do extra to keep away from civilian casualties and enhance the supply of desperately wanted humanitarian assist to the besieged enclave. Washington additionally goals to maintain a lid on assaults by Iranian proxies throughout the area in response to Israel’s warfare in Gaza, at what Blinken warned final week is essentially the most harmful second within the Center East “since a minimum of 1973” — a reference to the final main warfare between Israel and neighboring nations.
If a six-week pause takes maintain, it might be the longest cessation of hostilities because the warfare started 4 months in the past. America hopes that the preliminary pause would pave the best way to a extra everlasting decision to the battle. Washington is pushing for that settlement to incorporate a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a international coverage precedence of the Biden administration earlier than the Oct. 7 assault roiled the area.
However Riyadh on Wednesday made clear it might solely start diplomatic relations with Israel if “all Israeli occupation forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip” and a viable Palestinian state is established.
“The Kingdom has communicated its agency place to the U.S. administration that there can be no diplomatic relations with Israel until an impartial Palestinian state is acknowledged on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” a assertion from the International Ministry stated.
Hazem Balousha in Amman, Jordan, Sarah Dadouch in Beirut, Shira Rubin in Tel Aviv and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
