Mediators seem to have succeeded in pushing Gaza warring sides to commit to ceasefire deal
Muhanad Seloom, assistant professor of critical security studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Qatar, says that “it seems that the mediators have succeeded in averting a crisis between the Israeli government and Palestinians”.
He also said that it seemed like Israel would accept the release of just three captives in Gaza on Saturday. Seloom was also cautiously optimistic about the ceasefire agreement holding.
“It is obviously a very fragile agreement, the situation is developing on the ground and Israel might flip at some point and they might change their mind but so far it looks like the mediators have succeeded in pushing both sides to commit to the deal,” he said.
“There are no details on what is coming next, but according to the initial agreement the phase two will witness the exchange of more hostages and an agreement to a permanent ceasefire,” he added.
Israel to start ‘huge’ displacement of Palestinians from Gaza: Smotrich
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is a leading figure in Israeli attacks on the occupied West Bank, signals the Gaza ceasefire is still alive but may not last long.
“The state of Israel will return to fighting with all its might and occupy Gaza, take responsibility there, and initiate a huge emigration operation,” he told Israeli radio 103fm in reference to the ethnic cleansing plan proposed by Donald Trump.
“This is a crazy logistical event in coordination with the US. We will occupy the Gaza Strip, destroy Hamas, and there will be no threat from Gaza to the citizens of Israel.”
Smotrich said his opinion was that Israel must back Trump’s assertion that all captives held in Gaza must be released by Saturday, but Netanyahu made a different choice to go ahead with the ceasefire for now. He said the Israeli prime minister is intentionally spreading a sense of “ambiguity”.
“Our policy right now is to exhaust the chances of returning as many of the hostages as possible, certainly those who are alive, before returning to the war to realise our goal of destroying Hamas.”
Hamas says mediators assure Israel remains committed to the ceasefire deal
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim has told Al Jazeera that the group has agreed to release Israeli captives this weekend as scheduled after assurances from the mediators Egypt and Qatar that Israel is committed to all aspects of the ceasefire agreement, including moving to the second phase of the deal.
“We also insisted that we are still committed and ready to comply with the agreement if the Israelis can show a seriousness in implementing [the deal],” he said.
Earlier this week, Hamas postponed the release of captives on Saturday, citing Israeli violations of the deal, but said on Thursday that they would free them as scheduled under the agreement.
Naim defended the postponement – saying that Israel has blocked essential humanitarian aid and killed at least 25 Palestinians since the truce took effect – but said Hamas now expects to see more tents, caravans and heavy machinery entering the Strip.
But Naim said that Donald Trump’s recent pronouncements on Gaza, including a plan to ethnically cleanse the Strip of Palestinians, is complicating the situation.
“[Trump’s plan is not for] security, and stability and prosperity in the region, but more escalations and turmoil in the region by the forceful expulsion of two million Palestinians,” he said. “This is immoral. It is a crime against humanity and ethnic cleansing. Palestinians are not ready to leave their homeland.”
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