Hamas said on Thursday it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further ceasefire talks, a new sign of progress in efforts by international mediators to strike a deal between Israel and the militant group. war in gaza,
After months of intermittent talks, ceasefire efforts have reached a critical stage, with Egyptian and US mediators indicating agreement in recent days. But prospects for a deal are entangled by the key question of whether Israel will accept ending the war without reaching its stated goal of destroying Hamas.
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A new UN report makes clear the risks to ceasefire talks, saying that if the Israel-Hamas war stopped today, the reconstruction of all the homes destroyed by nearly seven months of Israeli bombardment would be difficult. It will take time till 2040. Ground attacks in Gaza. It warned that the damage caused to the economy would hamper development for generations and would get worse as fighting continues each month.
Palestinians react near the bodies of their relatives killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip at Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Karim Hana)
The proposal put forward to Hamas by US and Egyptian mediators – apparently with Israel’s approval – sets out a three-phase process that would bring an immediate six-week ceasefire and a partial release of Israeli hostages, but “permanently” There will be discussion on also. “peace” that includes some form of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, according to an Egyptian official. Hamas is seeking guarantees of Israel’s complete 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 Haniyeh, said in a statement that he had spoken to Egypt’s intelligence chief and “stressed 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”. Haniyeh said he had also spoken to the prime minister of Qatar, another key mediator in the process.
Brokers hope the deal will end a conflict that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, caused widespread destruction and plunged the region into a humanitarian crisis, according to local health officials. They also hope the agreement will prevent an Israeli offensive on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled the war zone and sought refuge elsewhere in the region.
If Israel agreed to end the war in exchange for the full release of the hostages, that would be a major change. Since Hamas’ October 7 attack stunned Israel, its leaders have vowed not to end their bombings and ground attacks until the militant group is destroyed. He also says Israel should maintain a military presence and security control in Gaza after the war to ensure that Hamas cannot rebuild.
At least in public, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu He continues to insist that this is the only acceptable end game.
He has vowed that even if a ceasefire is reached, Israel will eventually attack Rafah, which he says is Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza. He reiterated his resolve to do so in talks on Wednesday US Secretary of State Antony BlinkenWho was in Israel on a regional tour to push this agreement.
The immediate fate of the agreement depends on whether Hamas will accept the uncertainty in the final stages to bring about an initial six-week pause in the fighting – and at least postpone an attack it fears would take Rafah. But there will be a devastating attack.
Egypt has been privately assuring Hamas that the agreement would mean a complete end to the war. But the Egyptian official said Hamas says the language of the text is too vague and wants it to specify Israel’s complete withdrawal from all of Gaza. The official spoke on condition of anonymity about internal deliberations.
However, the news appeared less positive on Wednesday evening as Osama Hamdan, a top Hamas official, expressed skepticism, saying the group’s initial position was “negative”. Speaking to Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, he said talks were still ongoing but would stop if Israel attacked Rafah.
Blinken stepped up pressure on Hamas to accept, saying Israel had made “very important” agreements.
“There is no time for further bargaining. The deal is done,” Blinken said before leaving for the United States on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, at least five people, including a child, were killed in an Israeli air strike in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Associated Press journalists viewed and counted bodies at a hospital.
The war began on October 7 when Hamas militants crossed into southern Israel and killed more than 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, taking about 250 others hostage, some of whom were released during a ceasefire in November. given.
The Israel–Hamas war began with an attack on southern Israel on October 7 in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped about 250 hostages. Hamas is believed to still have about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.
Since then, Israel’s campaign in Gaza has caused massive destruction and brought humanitarian disaster, with several million Palestinians in northern Gaza facing imminent famine, with more than 80% of the population driven from their homes according to the United Nations. Has been given.
“The productive base of the economy has been destroyed” and poverty among Palestinians is rising rapidly, according to the report released Thursday by the United Nations Development Program and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
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It said that in 2024, the entire Palestinian economy, including both Gaza and the West Bank, is projected to decline by 25.8% so far. It said that if the war continued, losses would reach a “staggering” 29% by July. The economy of the West Bank has been hit by Israel’s decision to revoke the work permits of thousands of workers who depend on jobs inside Israel.
“These new figures warn that suffering in Gaza will not end if war occurs,” said UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. He warned of a “serious development crisis that will jeopardize the future of coming generations.”
