Hamas approves Gaza ceasefire, prisoner exchange proposal with Israel. Israel-Palestine conflict news
Hamas says it has approved a proposal to end the war in Gaza and replace Israeli prisoners with Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
The Palestinian armed group told Al Jazeera Arabic on Wednesday that its delegation had brokered approval of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal. Israel has not yet announced a response to the proposal.
The news comes after mediators from the United States, Qatar and Egypt reported that a potential deal to end Israel’s 15-month war on Gaza is closer than ever and could be reached very soon , but there is no guarantee. He said implementation could begin “immediately” after an agreement is signed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to convene his cabinet on Thursday, according to Israeli media reports.
the three Stooges
Reuters news agency quoted an official briefed on the talks as saying that the proposed agreement would take place in three phases. In an initial six-week phase, Israeli forces will gradually withdraw from central Gaza and Palestinians will be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza.
Reuters reported that Hamas would release 33 Israeli detainees in those six weeks, including all female soldiers and civilians, children and men over 50. Israel will release 30 Palestinian prisoners for every civilian prisoner released and 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli soldier released.
The second phase of talks will begin on the 16th day after the first phase and is expected to include the release of remaining detainees and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The third phase was expected to include the return of bodies and the beginning of reconstruction in Gaza, Reuters reported.
Netanyahu met on Wednesday with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz. “There is only one thing before my eyes and that is the fulfillment of all the goals of the war,” Smotrich said in a video released after the meeting.
Both Smotrich and hawkish National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir are staunchly against the deal and threatened again this week to quit the government if it is passed. Ben-Gvir met with several Knesset lawmakers on Wednesday.
Israel has previously said the main goal of its war is to “destroy” Hamas while ensuring the release of detainees still in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that Hamas has recruited almost as many new fighters as it has lost in its war with Israel, adding that the group cannot be defeated by “military operations alone”.
Washington is also trying to unite its allies behind the idea of a “reformed” Palestinian Authority that would eventually take over the enclave to prevent the re-emergence of Hamas.
On Wednesday representatives from about 85 countries gathered at Oslo’s City Hall to discuss ways to move toward a two-state solution. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the time had come to explain “what will happen after the ceasefire”.
Families of Israelis still remaining in Gaza held mass demonstrations again in Tel Aviv and elsewhere on Tuesday night, demanding a deadline to reach an agreement.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Israeli affairs analyst Dan Perry said that the prospect of a ceasefire is generating two main reactions in Israel: first, joy at the possible release of Israeli captives and the end of the war and second, concern that Hamas, Although militarily eliminated, Will effectively remains in power.
Perry said, “It is abundantly clear that if Israel withdraws from Gaza, Hamas will remain in charge.” “And for that, I think many people will blame Netanyahu because there is an obvious alternative to Hamas as the Palestinian Authority.”
‘People are dying every hour’
As the ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal appeared to be nearing the finish line, the Israeli military stepped up deadly attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Medical sources told Al Jazeera that at least 59 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday.
The situation remains dire for the 2.3 million Palestinians living in Gaza as air and ground attacks continue and most aid is blocked by Israel.
The health ministry in Gaza said on Wednesday that at least 46,707 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the war began, 62 more than a day earlier. It said the number of injured people had also increased to at least 110,265.
People in Gaza are monitoring developments in Doha, but at the same time, people are dying hour by hour, said Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
“The more we hear about a possible ceasefire agreement, the greater the pace of attacks, the more families are being targeted and killed. “In the last 72 hours, more people inside residential houses have been targeted.”
They included a family targeted in an overnight attack in Deir al-Balah, which killed at least 12 people, including children, and an airstrike on the Burijs refugee camp, where Israeli bombs killed at least five people. Had taken life.
Israeli forces also ordered new forced displacements, this time of Palestinians living in the Jabaliya area of northern Gaza, where more than 5,000 people have been killed or missing in a siege that has lasted more than 100 days.
Israeli shelling on Wednesday cut power to an Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza as attacks on health facilities continue after Israeli forces set fire to Kamal Adwan hospital last month and arrested its director.
