Yesterday, Beniamin Netanyahu tightened the rope once again, waiting for a response from Hamas to the latest Israeli proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange. “We will do whatever it takes to defeat our enemy, including in Rafah,” he said after noting that “there were and are differences of opinion among us regarding operations in distant places – that is, Iran – and near places – Gaza and Lebanon-. But at the end of the discussion I made a decision, and the decision was made. We performed there and we will perform here too.”
The insistence on a ground invasion of Rafah, on the southern tip of Gaza, sounds incompatible with the Israeli proposal itself. Hamas, however, despite a formal rejection, seemed yesterday still in a position to negotiate. The Palestinian organization extended the response time, saying that it would go to Cairo in a couple of days, but noted in its message – transmitted by Egyptian mediators after a telephone conversation between the political head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, and the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abas Kamel – that it is about “completing the current discussions with the aim of maturing an agreement that meets the demands of our people and stops the aggression.”
In summary, Haniyeh said that the proposal is being studied in a “positive spirit,” to which, and according to the same Egyptian sources, “most of the proposal received the acceptance of the movement both inside and outside.” Palestine. This would mean that there would be no discrepancies between the military branch, in Gaza, and the political branch of Hamas, abroad.
According to the Qatari portal Al Jadeed al Araby, there have been intense contacts between Hamas and Israel, with positive results regarding a gradual withdrawal of troops from Gaza and the return of the population to the north of the strip, which would be accompanied by truces. in three phases of 40 and 42 days, up to a total of 124 days, in which the entry of humanitarian aid would increase. According to this plan, delivered to Hamas by Egyptian mediation last Friday and whose content was disclosed yesterday by the Lebanese media Al Akhbar, throughout the process the exchanges of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners by age and gender groups would take place. , until there were 133 captives in the hands of Hamas and 1,290 Palestinian prisoners.
The obstacle, of course, is Rafah. Osama Hamdan, head of international relations for Hamas, told the Lebanese channel Al Manar that “if the enemy launches an aggressive ground operation in Rafah, the negotiations will stop because the resistance – that is, Hamas – does not negotiate under fire.”
Netanyahu’s intentions – or at least his repeated statements about attacking Rafah “with or without an agreement” – would ruin not only the release of the Israeli hostages but also a normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia. This was announced this week in Tel Aviv by the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, according to the Times of Israel. It must be remembered that the Hamas attack on October 7 was intended to torpedo any possibility of formalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. In any case, the United States is on the path to negotiating a separate security agreement with the Saudis.
Meanwhile, the bombings of Gaza continue, claiming the lives of 28 people yesterday. Furthermore, yesterday the death of doctor Adnan al Bursh, head of orthopedics at Al Shifa hospital, who was arrested while working at Al Awada hospital, in the north of the strip, was announced in an Israeli prison. Dr. Al Bursh passed away on April 19. According to Palestinian authorities, 496 Palestinian doctors and health workers have died since October 7.
