Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

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Hamas ready to ‘deal positively with any initiative’ to end war

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri has said the group will engage positively with any proposal that brings about an end to the war, while calling on the United States to push Israel towards a permanent ceasefire.

“We call upon the US administration to put pressure on the occupation to stop the war on Gaza and the Hamas movement is ready to deal positively with any initiative that secures an end to the war”, said Abu Zuhri in comments carried by Reuters.

The statement comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken embarks on a trip to the Middle East as part of a renewed ceasefire push. As we reported, Blinken is expected first in Cairo today, after which he will travel to Jerusalem for discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Israel trying to ‘block’ ceasefire agreement: Hamas’s Haniyeh

Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, has spoken to Al Jazeera Arabic about the US-proposed ceasefire deal and prospects for ending the war.

He said Israel attacked the Nuseirat camp and freed four Israeli captives while killing at least 274 Palestinians to block any agreement that would end the war. Haniyeh also accused the US of being a part of the attack, saying the Biden administration is “no less criminal” than Israel’s leadership.

In his comments to Al Jazeera Arabic, Haniyeh also addressed the resignations of Israeli war cabinet ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, saying they are trying to “jump off the boat … before it sinks”.

The resignations of the two Israeli officials, Haniyeh said, show that Israel’s political system is in a state of “collapse”.

Haniyeh also claimed that Gantz, who has been touted as a possible centrist alternative to Netanyahu, is no different from Prime Minister Netanyahu. "Both are murderers seeking destruction,” he said.

 

Is Benny Gantz a ‘centrist’ challenging Netanyahu for power in Israel?

In his 2019 campaign for the Israeli parliament, Benny Gantz – the man many see as a likely successor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – put out a video to show Israelis where he stood on crucial policy issues.

Black-and-white images of destruction in Gaza from a campaign he oversaw while he was army chief of staff ran along with claims of sending the Palestinian enclave “back to the Stone Age”.

“This was his entrance into Israeli politics,” Eyal Lurie-Paredes, a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Al Jazeera. “That’s just to give you an idea of how he thinks about human rights and Palestinians.”

US considering unilateral deal with Hamas to free US captives: Report

White House officials have discussed possibly striking a unilateral deal with Hamas to release five American captives in Gaza if Israel does not reach a captive exchange deal with the group, reports NBC News, quoting two current US and two former US officials aware of the discussions.

Qatari mediators would help facilitate any such US deal, which would exclude Israel, the officials told NBC News. They provided no insight into what the US could offer Hamas in return for the captives’ release.

The White House believes the five captives are still in Gaza and the remains of three other US citizens killed on October 7 are in the enclave.

Israeli negotiators unaware of US discussions on captive deal: Report

Israeli officials have told the country’s national broadcaster that they have no knowledge of the US considering a deal with Hamas to secure the release of American captives.

“We do not know of such a move by the US,” the unnamed officials engaged in Israel’s ceasefire negotiations told Kan. “[The US administration] stressed it is working towards the release of all the abductees."

Earlier, NBC News reported that Biden administration officials held discussions about possibly striking a unilateral deal with Hamas to free five US citizens still believed held captive in Gaza if Israel does not finalise a deal with the group.