Cautious optimism as Israel evaluates Hamas’s response to proposed ceasefire
Negotiations had for some time been at a standstill. Tonight, Israeli officials say they are approaching the news that the Mossad is evaluating a Hamas response to a ceasefire deal with cautious optimism.
At the end of May, Israeli officials had laid out to mediators what they were looking for in a deal. On May 31, US President Joe Biden gave a speech in which he outlined a three-phase plan to end the war.
In the following weeks, on June 11, Hamas had given their own response to that deal. It was slammed, with Israel and the United States saying that they had removed key elements.
On June 24, Netanyahu told Israeli media that he was willing to come up with a partial deal that would see the release of only some of the captives. But later, he told the Israeli parliament that he was committed to the plan outlined by the Biden administration.
Now both sides are saying there is a willingness to reach a deal, but some sources say there are still going to be major obstacles.
What has changed is that perhaps the Israelis themselves are looking to come to the table because the Israeli population is increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu’s governance.
Hamas says it ‘exchanges ideas’ with mediators with aim of ending Israeli assault
Hamas says it has “exchanged some ideas” with mediating parties with the aim of stopping the “aggression against our people”. The group did not provide details in its statement, which it published on its official Telegram channel.
The announcement comes as Israel said it is evaluating Hamas’s response to a ceasefire proposal that would include the release of captives and a ceasefire in Gaza.
Hamas says its leader Ismail Haniyeh has been in touch with Qatari and Egyptian mediators to discuss ideas for a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza.
“The movement dealt in a positive spirit with the content of the ongoing deliberations,” the statement said. The group added that in recent hours, its members also discussed recent developments with officials in Turkey.
Relatives of captives in Gaza tell Netanyahu to accept deal
The Association of Families of Israeli Prisoners Detained in Gaza has told Netanyahu in a statement that the prime minister must accept a deal to bring back their relatives held in Gaza or face street protests.
The group said it would not allow the government to obstruct reaching an exchange deal again and that millions of Israelis would take to the streets if one is not reached.
‘Serious division’ between Netanyahu and military leaders on truce talks: Analyst
Omar Baddar, a US-based political analyst, tells Al Jazeera, “It doesn’t seem like much has changed on the Israeli side, so far,” as both Israel and Hamas release statements acknowledging they are engaging in mediated ceasefire negotiations.
While the US “has enormous leverage over Israel”, it is continuing in a “charade” of insisting it is Hamas that is holding up a ceasefire deal, while “Netanyahu openly says that he will not agree to any kind of agreement that ends the war permanently”, says Baddar.
Meanwhile, there is “very serious division” between Israel’s military leaders who realise there is “no path to a better future for Israel out of this entire mess, and that it is time to simply end this war”, and its political leaders “that have absolutely no interest in doing that”, Baddar added.
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