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After months of stop-and-start talks, the ceasefire effort appears to have reached a critical stage, with Egyptian and US mediators reporting signs of compromise in recent days. But the chances of a deal remain tied to the key question of whether Israel will accept an end to the war without achieving its stated goal of destroying Hamas.
The stakes in the cease-fire talks have been spelled out in a new UN report that says if the Israel-Hamas war stops today, rebuilding all the homes that have been destroyed by nearly seven months of Israeli bombardment and by 2040 ground offensives in Gaza.
He warns that the impact of the damage on the economy will delay development for generations and will only worsen with each month the fighting continues.
The proposal that US and Egyptian mediators made to Hamas – apparently with Israel’s approval – sets out a three-stage process that would lead to an immediate six-week ceasefire and the partial release of Israeli hostages, but also talks on a “permanent calm” that includes some kind of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, according to an Egyptian official.Hamas is seeking guarantees for a full Israeli withdrawal and a complete end to the war.
Hamas officials have sent mixed signals about the proposal in recent days. But on Thursday, its supreme leader Ismail Haniya said in a statement that he had spoken with Egypt’s intelligence chief and “underscored the movement’s positive spirit in studying the ceasefire proposal.”
The statement said Hamas negotiators would travel to Cairo “to conclude ongoing discussions with the aim of working forward towards an agreement”. Haniya said he also spoke with Qatar’s prime minister, another key mediator in the process.
Brokers hope the deal will end a conflict that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, caused widespread destruction and plunged the territory into a humanitarian crisis.
They also hope the deal will prevent an Israeli attack on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have sought refuge after fleeing fighting zones elsewhere in the territory.
If Israel agrees to end the war in exchange for the full release of hostages, it will be a major reversal. Since the October 7 attack by Hamas stunned Israel, its leaders have vowed not to stop their bombing and ground offensives until the group is destroyed. They also say Israel must maintain a military presence in Gaza and control security after the war to ensure Hamas does not recover.
Police move into the camp as anti-war protests continue across the US
In other news, Turkey is stepping up its condemnation of Israel’s war on Gaza, reportedly increasing trade restrictions it previously imposed to a full embargo on imports and exports, Bloomberg reports/
The move comes shortly after a tweet by Israel’s foreign minister accusing Turkey of violating trade agreements, calling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a dictator.
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