Israel open to a longer-term framework after military shortcomings
Israeli politicians “learned a lesson” after the agreement in November that secured a one-week ceasefire and exchange of prisoners and now appear more open to a longer-term solution, says Mahjoob Zweiri, director of Gulf Studies Centre at Qatar University.
“There are two obstacles. One is Netanyahu’s slogan for the day after, which basically indicates he doesn’t want to withdraw troops because he wants to control Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera.
“And number two; he doesn’t want people to go back to northern Gaza from Rafah and the southern parts because he wants to create a new security status quo in the north. That is why we see Hamas insisting on those two elements.”
Zweiri said a main driver behind this interest for a new agreement is that the Israeli military has not been able to fully achieve its goals on the ground, with fighting still continuing in northern Gaza, where it claimed it had eliminated Hamas’s presence months ago.
The Israeli military has not been able to fully clear northern Gaza of Palestinian fighters despite months of bombings and ground assaults
US official claims ball is in Hamas’s court on ceasefire deal
The US official, speaking to reporters in a conference call, says that Israel has “basically accepted” a six week ceasefire. “Israelis agreed to a six week ceasefire, now it’s up to Hamas to agree,” the official said. That would be followed by a “second phase” to “build something more enduring”.
Hamas has previously demanded a final and total ceasefire, and not just a temporary pause, the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and freedom of movement for Palestinians within Gaza.
‘Good chance’ US-backed ceasefire will be agreed on
It would be “unwise” for Hamas to refuse the framework agreement with Israel that is on the table because Palestinians need even the six-week pause that it could bring, said HA Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. “It’s an incredibly desperate humanitarian situation in the Strip and any pause would be a respite for the people there,” he told Al Jazeera.
Hellyer said a sticking point in the ongoing mediated talks is which Palestinian prisoners Israel is willing to release in exchange for its captives in Gaza during a potential pause.
“I think there is a very good chance an agreement will be penned tomorrow in Cairo. I don’t think [political prisoner] Marwan Barghouti is likely to be part of that deal in the slightest, but I think that they will overcome that particular sticking point.”
No Israeli reaction to US official’s suggestion of ceasefire agreement
There hasn’t been any Israeli reaction to this just yet, in fact, over the last week, the only thing we’ve been hearing about are impasses when it comes to this deal, and conflicting reports about where delegations are or are not being sent.
But remember, the entire time that there have been these talks, the Israelis have been discussing their red lines and the concessions that they are simply not willing to give up as part of a deal. That is, they’re not willing to see the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners as part of this deal.
It also comes as several Israeli media outlets report that there will not be an Israeli delegation going to the next round of talks.
Israel’s Gantz to visit Washington, London without Netanyahu approval
Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz is set to visit Washington and London in an uncoordinated trip that has reportedly angered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The head of the National Unity party, who has been tipped to replace Netanyahu if an election takes place, plans to be in the US on Sunday and then travel to the UK, Israeli media reported.
The reports cited unnamed Netanyahu associates as saying the prime minister has “made it clear to Minister Gantz that the State of Israel only has one prime minister”. They said the trip runs against government regulations that require coordinating with the prime minister and securing approval for trips.
Reuters cited an unnamed US official as saying Gantz will meet Vice President Kalama Harris on Monday amid the Biden administration’s frustration with Netanyahu.
Gantz is just as much a hardliner, ready to go into Rafah no matter what, saying things like "100% military control in Gaza, 0% civilian control" for the day after. His issue with Netanyahu is allowing too much discourse. He is part of the National Unity party and former IDF Chief of Staff.
As for the imminent ceasefire deal "It also comes as several Israeli media outlets report that there will not be an Israeli delegation going to the next round of talks." just more American lies to make Biden look like he's doing something
Israeli military confirms three soldiers killed in Gaza
The Israeli army confirms three more soldiers are killed in Gaza, bringing the official death toll of its ground offensive to 245.
It confirmed that three 19-year-old sergeants, Dolev Malka, Afik Tery and Inon Yitzhak, were killed, and 14 other soldiers were wounded, six of them seriously. They entered a building in Khan Younis in southern Gaza that was rigged with two explosive devices, which detonated. The Israeli military claimed its soldiers killed several Hamas operatives in the area.
This appears to be the same incident that Hamas also reported several hours ago, saying its fighters detonated explosives after Israeli troops entered a building in a neighbourhood in northern Khan Younis.
Hamas claims successful attacks on Israeli tanks, drone
Hamas says it launched multiple successful attacks on Israeli tanks and a drone in the Zeitoun district in central Gaza City, where intense ground fighting continues to rage. It said Palestinian fighters hit two Merkava tanks with Yassin-105 rocket-propelled grenades and blew up two more tanks using explosives.
The armed group also said it detonated an improvised explosive device as Israeli ground troops entered a building, and managed to take possession of a Skylark drone which was on a reconnaissance mission south of Zeitoun.
Gaza rockets activate sirens near largest Israeli city in Negev desert
Sirens have sounded in a kibbutz called Hatzerim, near the southern Israeli city of Beersheba – the largest in the Negev desert.
The Israeli military said four long-range rockets were fired from Gaza, with Israeli media reporting the rockets also caused sirens to be activated in the Be’eri kibbutz bordering the besieged enclave.
Hatzerim is close to an Israeli air force base of the same name. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries caused by the rockets.
Calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza are growing louder
