Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Jerusalem is studying the Arab mediators’ proposal for a phased release of hostages as part of the ceasefire deal, which the militant group Hamas has already accepted, officials have said.
This is despite the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office issuing a statement that the country is only interested in a deal that releases all 50 hostages at once. Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to convene discussions about the ceasefire proposal soon, the two Israeli officials say.
Earlier, Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar had sent the proposal to Israel, adding “the ball is now in its court.”
Egyptian state-linked al-Qahera reported that the deal proposes an initial 60-day truce, a partial hostage release, the release of some Palestinian prisoners and provisions to allow for the entry of aid.
Hamas accepted the proposal “without requesting any amendments,” while Israel did not respond. Netanyahu had last week said that Israel “will agree to an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war.”
After Hamas accepted the ceasefire deal, which was based on a proposal by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkof, the Islamic Jihad also said that “all factions are supportive” of the Egyptian and Qatari proposal, while adding that “the remaining captives would be released in a second phase.”
The deal would include a 60-day truce, the release of some of the hostages held by Hamas in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, a flood of humanitarian aid into Gaza and talks on a lasting ceasefire. Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is disarmed.
President Donald Trump gave support to those goals Monday in a social media post, saying Hamas must be “confronted and destroyed” to ensure the return of the remaining hostages.
Out of 251 hostages taken during Hamas’ October 2023 attack that triggered the war, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27, the Israeli military says, are dead.
Hamas accepted the ceasefire deal at a time when Israel is preparing for the operation to occupy Gaza City and other densely populated areas, which would likely result in even more casualties and further waves of mass displacement.
Alluding to the dire humanitarian conditions for the more than 2 million people living in the Gaza Strip, where UN agencies and aid groups have warned of famine, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty stressed the urgency of reaching an agreement.
Egypt on Monday said that it was willing to join a potential international force deployed to Gaza, but only if backed by a UN Security Council resolution and accompanied by a “political horizon.”
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
