Hamas confirmed that it was considering a proposal for a truce in Gaza, while hard-line members of the Israeli government threatened to collapse the coalition if they did not like any agreement.
The political leader of the Palestinian movement, Ismail Haniyeh, confirmed on Tuesday that he is studying the proposal that was put forward in Paris at the weekend to stop the war and allow the exchange of Israeli and Palestinian prisoners.
Haniyeh said in a statement that the group “is open to discussing any serious and practical initiatives or ideas, provided that they lead to a comprehensive cessation of aggression.”
Hamas also said the plan should ensure “the complete withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip.”
He added that the group's leadership received an invitation to visit Cairo to reach an “integrated vision” regarding the framework agreement.
He also expressed his appreciation for the role played by Qatar and Egypt in mediating the deal.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said on Monday that “good progress” had been made on a potential deal during meetings between intelligence officials from Egypt, Israel and the United States over the weekend.
The two parties discussed a proposal that includes a temporary truce. This will be followed by the release of women and children, with humanitarian aid entering the besieged Gaza Strip.
The Qatari Prime Minister pointed out that Hamas had previously demanded a permanent ceasefire as a precondition for entering negotiations. However, he noted that there is hope that her position has changed.
“I think we have moved from that place to a place that may lead to a permanent ceasefire in the future,” he said.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza announced that it will not enter into any understandings regarding the Israeli hostages without ensuring a comprehensive ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, the movement’s Secretary-General, Ziad al-Nakhalah, said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Government division”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel will continue its war in Gaza until “total victory” over Hamas.
He ruled out the release of “thousands” of Palestinian prisoners as part of any agreement to stop the fighting, and said that the army would not withdraw from Gaza.
“I would like to make clear… we will not withdraw the IDF [army] From the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists. “None of this will happen,” he said in a speech in the Eli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Netanyahu is under great pressure from the families of the remaining prisoners held by Hamas to reach an agreement to secure their release.
Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel and held about 240 prisoners on October 7.
However, he is also being pushed to continue the war by his government's hard-line coalition partners.
Commenting on the truce negotiations reported earlier on Tuesday, far-right Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir appeared to suggest that reaching an agreement with Hamas would lead to the collapse of the government.
“Rash deal = division in government,” Ben Gvir wrote on X.
Business project = core product
— Facebook Twitter (@itamarbengvir) January 30, 2024
The Minister of Homeland Security is known for his inflammatory comments on the conflict. However, his Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) party is a major player in Israel's ruling coalition.
Al Jazeera's Muhammad Jamjoom, reporting from Tel Aviv, said that anonymous Israeli officials confirmed that the government had signed a deal that was presented to Hamas. This includes stopping the fighting and releasing Israeli prisoners in Gaza in exchange for the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.
Jamjoom said that while members of the right-wing government oppose the deal, Yair Lapid, the Israeli opposition leader and former prime minister, said he would support the government if it meant returning the prisoners to their homes.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also expected to arrive in Israel on Saturday on his sixth trip to the region since the war began to discuss post-war scenarios in Gaza, Jamjoom reported.
escalation
The proposals were distributed to Hamas as fighting intensified in Gaza.
Heavy Israeli strikes and urban fighting across the blockaded enclave killed another 128 people overnight, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
An Israeli “hit squad” also killed three men it described as “terrorists” in a secret operation in a hospital in the occupied West Bank.
Haniyeh said: “The world must put pressure on the occupation to stop these massacres and war crimes, including the policy of torture to which our people are subjected in the areas of the West Bank, executions and arrests.”
Amid escalating fighting, Israel accused about a dozen employees of the United Nations refugee agency for Palestine (UNRWA) of participating in the October 7 attack, prompting major donor countries, including the United States and Germany, to suspend funding.
Haniyeh said that the countries' decision to suspend their contributions is a “clear violation” of the interim ruling issued by the International Court of Justice last week that called for an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Hamas leader stressed that countries that cut aid support “the Israeli occupation through starvation and siege.”
