US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the Middle East to push for a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel, as more than five months of relentless Israeli bombing has pushed Gaza toward famine.
Blinken is expected to meet with leaders in Saudi Arabia and Egypt this week to discuss ongoing talks between Hamas and Israel mediated by Qatar and Egypt, as well as the release of Gaza captives.
Although Mossad chief David Barena has already left Doha, the venue for the negotiations, the Israeli delegation is still in the Qatari capital for the talks. So where are the negotiations?
What terms did Hamas propose for the Gaza truce?
Late last week, Hamas presented mediators with a proposal for a possible truce agreement.
These are some of the key terms of the proposal:
- The Israeli captives would be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, 100 of whom are serving life sentences. Nearly 100 captives are believed to be in the custody of Hamas and other Palestinian factions.
- The ceasefire would be divided into three stages of 42 days each.
- During the first stage, Israeli forces must withdraw from al-Rashid and Salah al-Din streets – the two main roads connecting the south with the north – to allow the return of displaced Palestinians to their homes and the delivery of aid. to Gaza.
- The captives freed first would be women and children.
- In exchange, between 700 and 1,000 Palestinian prisoners would be released.
- Hamas said that for the release of a captive Israeli reservist, 50 Palestinian prisoners of its choice should be freed, including 30 serving life sentences. More than 200 Palestinian prisoners and 80 Israeli captives were freed as part of a week-long truce in November. However, many of the Palestinians have since been arrested again.
- In the second phase, a permanent ceasefire must be declared before more captives are released.
- The third stage would involve Israel lifting its siege of Gaza and beginning the reconstruction of the enclave.
What is Israel saying?
In response to Hamas' latest truce offer, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it was still based on “unrealistic demands.”
Netanyahu has said Israel still plans to invade Rafah, the last and southernmost refuge for Palestinians who fled months of Israeli bombing, to achieve its goal of defeating Hamas. But his plan has faced opposition from Arab nations, aid agencies and his closest ally, Washington.
A fundamental disagreement between both sides is that Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire while Israel insists on the “total eradication of Hamas.”
Israel has faced global condemnation for its war tactics, under which Gaza has been placed under a complete blockade and very little effort has been made to differentiate between civilians and armed combatants. More than 31,000 people, including 12,300 children, have been killed since October 7. More children have died in Gaza in the last five months than in conflicts around the world in the last four years.
Qatar has confirmed that David Barnea, head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service, met with Egyptian and Qatari mediators to resume negotiations on Monday, before leaving Doha on Tuesday.
What have the Palestinian leaders said?
Palestinian National Initiative Secretary General Mustafa Barghouti told Al Jazeera on March 15 that Hamas' latest proposal is “much more flexible and communicative” compared to previous ones presented in early and late February.
Barghouti said he hopes Netanyahu will impose “every possible obstacle to prevent this deal from happening because he knows that once this war is over, he will go to prison. He knows very well that on October 7 he will be accused of failure, but four cases of corruption also await him.”
What has been the international reaction?
Mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have spent weeks trying to narrow differences between Israel and Hamas over what a ceasefire would look like amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in which the entire population of Gaza faces hunger and famine.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said on March 15 that Cairo seeks to reach a ceasefire, increase aid deliveries to the Strip and allow displaced Palestinians in the south and center of the enclave to return to the north. El-Sisi also warned against Israel's ground invasion of Rafah, home to 1.4 million Palestinians, most of them displaced by the war.
British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden on Tuesday defended Israel's right to protect itself while calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza. Legal experts have questioned Israel's right to defense as an occupying power.
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in the United States who has long been a supporter of Israel, has called for new elections in Israel, making Netanyahu an obstacle to peace. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Netanyahu must be “misinformed” about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
US President Joe Biden warned Netanyahu on Monday that an operation in Rafah would deepen lawlessness in Gaza. Israel has since sent a team to Washington to discuss its plans in Rafah. Last weekend, Biden pledged to work to secure a ceasefire during a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in Washington.
A spokesman for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, Majed al-Ansari, said at a news conference on Tuesday that an Israeli ground operation in Rafah would set back any discussions of a ceasefire.
What is at stake?
The latest rounds of truce talks began in late February, but negotiators have so far struggled to narrow differences between Israel and Hamas.
Israel was willing to accept a temporary truce for the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for captives at the end of February. Israeli media quoted officials as talking about a six-week truce during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
More than a week after the start of Ramadan, negotiations have yet to make progress.
There are growing calls for a ceasefire as a UN-backed report on Sunday said famine was imminent. Aid groups have pointed the finger of blame at Israel, which has been bombing and blocking aid to Gaza.
Nour Shawaf, Oxfam's policy adviser for the Middle East and North Africa, told Al Jazeera on Monday: “Until we see a ceasefire in place that allows humanitarian operations to increase to bring aid to Gaza and northern Gaza specifically, With an exponential increase in this type of assistance, then we will see a very catastrophic scenario before our eyes as the world watches.
“Oxfam believes that people living in Gaza will suffer mass deaths from disease and hunger, far beyond the current 31,000 Palestinian victims of the war, unless Israel takes immediate steps to end its violations,” the NGO said in a statement. a press release issued Monday.
