here are grounds for cautious optimism regarding the outcome of the Qatar, Egypt, and US-mediated truce between Israel and Hamas. Much rides on a successful outcome as the ceasefire agreement will bring much-needed relief for Gazans as more trucks ferrying food, medical supplies, and other essentials will be allowed in.
For the first time, Israel has allowed aid to enter through the Erez/Beit Hanoun crossing in northern Gaza and the US is also building a floating pier off the Gaza coast to facilitate more aid. But they are vastly inadequate to take care of the sheer scale of the humanitarian disaster. A top United Nations official has warned of a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza and it’s moving its way south.
All of this will be possible with an extended cessation of hostilities which will provide much-needed respite for Gazans from the relentless bombardment that has reduced much of the Strip to rubble and killed 34,600 Palestinians, including 15,000 children. On the other side, Israel has lost 1,200 lives and as many as 266 of its soldiers have died due to the ground assault in Gaza since end-October last year.
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The uncertainties regarding the resumption of ceasefire negotiations include reconciling the different proposals on the table. Hamas has accepted the Egyptian and Qatari three-stage proposal each lasting 42 days while Israel has its own offer — which US secretary of state Anthony Blinken termed as “extraordinarily generous” — for an initial six-week pause in fighting during which Hamas would hand over 33 Israeli hostages — including children, elderly, women, and wounded captives — in return for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
In the second phase, there is a euphemistic call for “restoring a sustainable calm” instead of a permanent ceasefire, during which the remaining captives (including bodies of those deceased) and more Palestinian prisoners would be exchanged. Israel also has made an important concession to allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza to rebuild their livelihoods. Israel’s response to Hamas accepting the Egyptian and Qatari proposal is that it is far from its demands but the good news is that it is sending a delegation to Cairo for the ceasefire talks.
The uncertainties also pertain to reconciling the maximalist positions of Israel and Hamas. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared at the outset that his forces would invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, whether or not there was a ceasefire agreement. Without waiting for the outcome of the truce talks, Israeli forces have started pounding Rafah, in which more than a million Palestinians shelter.
The military has ordered them to move out of the eastern part warning that it is about to use “extreme force”. Hamas, for its part, seeks not just an extended cessation of hostilities but a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Israel will not accede to this as it hasn’t achieved its objectives in destroying Hamas. Out of the latter’s 24 battalions, each about 1,000 strong, as many as 20 have been reportedly “dismantled” by Israeli forces with the remainder in Rafah.
Dismantled doesn’t imply being destroyed as the remnants are capable of continuing the resistance against Israel. Nevertheless, the ceasefire talks are to be welcomed as there is a sharp shift in international opinion, including widespread protests in US campuses, to end the war in Gaza.
here are grounds for cautious optimism regarding the outcome of the Qatar, Egypt, and US-mediated truce between Israel and Hamas. Much rides on a successful outcome as the ceasefire agreement will bring much-needed relief for Gazans as more trucks ferrying food, medical supplies, and other essentials will be allowed in.
For the first time, Israel has allowed aid to enter through the Erez/Beit Hanoun crossing in northern Gaza and the US is also building a floating pier off the Gaza coast to facilitate more aid. But they are vastly inadequate to take care of the sheer scale of the humanitarian disaster. A top United Nations official has warned of a “full-blown famine” in northern Gaza and it’s moving its way south.
All of this will be possible with an extended cessation of hostilities which will provide much-needed respite for Gazans from the relentless bombardment that has reduced much of the Strip to rubble and killed 34,600 Palestinians, including 15,000 children. On the other side, Israel has lost 1,200 lives and as many as 266 of its soldiers have died due to the ground assault in Gaza since end-October last year.
The uncertainties regarding the resumption of ceasefire negotiations include reconciling the different proposals on the table. Hamas has accepted the Egyptian and Qatari three-stage proposal each lasting 42 days while Israel has its own offer — which US secretary of state Anthony Blinken termed as “extraordinarily generous” — for an initial six-week pause in fighting during which Hamas would hand over 33 Israeli hostages — including children, elderly, women, and wounded captives — in return for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
In the second phase, there is a euphemistic call for “restoring a sustainable calm” instead of a permanent ceasefire, during which the remaining captives (including bodies of those deceased) and more Palestinian prisoners would be exchanged. Israel also has made an important concession to allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza to rebuild their livelihoods. Israel’s response to Hamas accepting the Egyptian and Qatari proposal is that it is far from its demands but the good news is that it is sending a delegation to Cairo for the ceasefire talks.
The uncertainties also pertain to reconciling the maximalist positions of Israel and Hamas. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared at the outset that his forces would invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, whether or not there was a ceasefire agreement. Without waiting for the outcome of the truce talks, Israeli forces have started pounding Rafah, in which more than a million Palestinians shelter.
The military has ordered them to move out of the eastern part warning that it is about to use “extreme force”. Hamas, for its part, seeks not just an extended cessation of hostilities but a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Israel will not accede to this as it hasn’t achieved its objectives in destroying Hamas. Out of the latter’s 24 battalions, each about 1,000 strong, as many as 20 have been reportedly “dismantled” by Israeli forces with the remainder in Rafah.
Dismantled doesn’t imply being destroyed as the remnants are capable of continuing the resistance against Israel. Nevertheless, the ceasefire talks are to be welcomed as there is a sharp shift in international opinion, including widespread protests in US campuses, to end the war in Gaza.
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