Hostage Deal: Cautious Optimism as Hamas Drops Maximalist Demand
A person walks past pictures of hostages kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas from Gaza, projected on a screen, in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 31, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Marko Djurica
i24 News – Negotiations for a hostage release agreement for the Israeli hostages and a cease-fire in Gaza finally seem to be on the right track, even though, as former intelligence officer Raphael Jerusalmy told i24NEWS, “Hamas is used to saying ‘yes,’ then ‘but.'” The terrorist group particularly refuses an independent foreign Arab presence governing Gaza after the war, “which could represent a significant drawback” to any deal.
Among the points on which the two parties agree is the timing of the release of the Israeli hostages. A high-ranking Hamas source said on Saturday that the revised proposal provided for talks for the release of the Israeli hostages, including soldiers and “young and healthy” men, to begin within a period of 16 days after the start of the first phase of the agreement.
.@perry_dan: the very fact that Hamas is discussing the deal with Hezbollah suggests we could be seeing the moving of the needle pic.twitter.com/hZri5YQwLm
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) July 6, 2024
The mediators also guaranteed a temporary ceasefire, the delivery of aid, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops as long as the indirect talks continued during the first phase, which is expected to last six weeks, and the transition to the second phase of the agreement.
The Islamist terrorist group has, above all, abandoned the requirement that Israel lay the groundwork for a permanent ceasefire before committing to any deal, and accepts that negotiations for a “lasting calm” take place during the first phase, and not before.
A source from the Israeli negotiation team claimed that, with Hamas having given up on this key point, the agreement now has a “real chance of succeeding.”
A senior Hamas official, Osama Hamdan, said that the groups was “awaiting a response from Israel to its ceasefire proposals in Gaza today or tomorrow. If the response is positive, we will discuss the proposals in detail. The movement’s military capabilities in the Gaza Strip are still in a good position to continue the war.”
Netanyahu declared on Friday that negotiations will continue next week.
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