Proposals for a cessation of hostilities in Gaza between Hamas and Israel are far apart. The Islamist organization rejects the proposal that the Israeli Government negotiators would have sent to Qatar and Egypt, countries that act as mediators of the Jewish State with the Islamist organization, regarding a ceasefire that would last two months. And that in exchange, and according to a plan that would include various phases, Hamas would proceed to release the hostages that are still in its hands. The proposal was revealed on Monday by the American news portal Axios, although it could not be confirmed by official Israeli sources.
Hamas’ demands go even further, as they ask for an end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal that would include the release of the more than 130 captives it still holds, according to sources familiar with the negotiation. In fact, the Islamist group already revealed on Sunday what its conditions were. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected it in a public appearance the day after.
The initiative, which in principle would already include the release of Palestinian prisoners, comes at a time when protests by the hostages’ relatives have been increasing and after cracks have emerged within the war cabinet over the opportunity of the strategy to free the hostages.
The most recent example of discontent was that of the former head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Gadi Eisenkot, who has lost his son and a nephew in this war. For this soldier, it is an “illusion” to trust that the hostages will be released by methods other than those of the ceasefire. Eisenkot, who is part of the war cabinet, aimed directly at Netanyahu, whom he considers a hostage of his far-right partners. According to Israel, 27 hostages have died in captivity, three of them shot dead by Israeli troops, who believed them to be fighters for the organization. Hamas claims that several of the captives have been killed by Israeli bombing.
The Israeli Government’s strategy is the subject of strong criticism from the relatives of the hostages. Yesterday, a group of them stormed a session of the parliamentary finance committee in Jerusalem, demanding that lawmakers do more to try to free their loved ones. The action, in which about 20 people participated, indicates the growing internal dissent in the fourth month of the Gaza war.
The news this Tuesday about the deaths of at least 24 Israeli soldiers in a single day in the strip, the highest number since the start of the war, will increase pressure against Netanyahu and the sectors of the Government that choose to continue at any cost. Represented by ministers such as Bezalel Smotrich or Itamar Ben-Gvir, these sectors combine the desire to intensify the war with calls for the “voluntary” emigration of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and their replacement by Israeli settlements. For them, the hostages in the hands of Hamas are nothing more than an obstacle to their objectives.
The efforts of the United States, Qatar and Egypt to mediate another liberation seemed until yesterday to be doomed to failure. Families and supporters have begun camping in front of Netanyahu’s house as well as in front of the Knesset (Parliament) building. The usual weekend protests demanding the release of hostages have been reinforced in recent weeks by demonstrations calling for elections that could topple the government. On Saturday night, thousands of people protested in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem, calling for elections. In the Knesset yesterday, parliamentary ushers, often quick to remove hecklers or protesters, stood by.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, after this terrorist organization launched an attack on Israeli settlements bordering the Gaza Strip. In that massacre, 1,200 Israelis perished and another 253 people were kidnapped. In the days following the attack, the Israeli Army occupied and bombed the Gaza Strip, an operation that has already cost the lives of more than 25,000 people, according to Hamas sources.
