International mediators are finalizing a new proposal to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas, US and regional officials said, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted he would not relinquish control of Gaza’s border with Egypt – a key sticking point for a ceasefire deal.
Qatar and Egypt have drafted a series of proposals that are being discussed with US officials, said a senior official from one of the mediating countries and two Israeli officials. David Barnea, director of Israel’s intelligence service Mossad, was in Doha on Monday to discuss the document, officials said.
US officials said they expected to conclude a final proposal with Egyptian and Qatari negotiators on Wednesday or Thursday.
All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations because the latest proposals have not yet been finalized. Israeli officials and Hamas leaders have expressed pessimism Despite growing public anger in Israel over the failure to bring home the remaining hostages held in Gaza, the prospects for an agreement.
As negotiators traded ideas to break the deadlock between Israel and Hamas, Mr Netanyahu gave a fiery speech on Monday, rejecting critics who blamed him for not doing enough to reach a deal.
Mr. Netanyahu repeated Its a long time demand that Israel should retain control of the Gazan side of the border with Egypt – known as The Philadelphia Corridor – To prevent Hamas from rearming through cross-border smuggling. The demand is a non-starter for Hamas, which has demanded a full Israeli withdrawal as a condition for a ceasefire.
“It will determine our entire future,” Mr Netanyahu told reporters on Monday night as protesters protested outside his Jerusalem home demanding an immediate ceasefire to free hostages.
Mr. Netanyahu has sent mixed messages over whether he has called only for Israeli troops to remain on Gaza’s border with Egypt during a six-week ceasefire or as a condition of a permanent ceasefire. An Israeli official said Israel understood it would have to withdraw if the deal moved into its second and third phases.
But in his speech on Monday, Mr Netanyahu framed Israeli forces along the border with Gaza and Egypt as an existential issue that would bind the country “for the foreseeable future”. His office declined to comment on whether he was referring to the initial ceasefire or the three-phase agreement as a whole.
Shock and outrage erupted in Israel this week after the soldiers’ bodies were found Six Israeli hostagesAll of whom were recently executed by Hamas, according to Israeli officials. Hamas issued conflicting statements in response, but at least one strongly implied that the hostages were executed after realizing Israeli soldiers were nearby.
Many Israelis blamed Mr. Netanyahu for failing to bring the hostages back alive, accusing him of avoiding a ceasefire deal with Hamas that could have spared them in order to appease his far-right coalition partners. Thousands of Israelis took to the streets in mass protest Seeking or participating in an agreement with Hamas General strike of hours.
But both actions ultimately unraveled, revealing a country deeply divided over the price it must pay to bring home the more than 60 living hostages and the bodies of the roughly 35 others still in Gaza.
Hamas has been slowly releasing videos of dead hostages, continuing a practice Israeli officials have labeled “psychological terrorism.” On Tuesday night, the group released footage of Ori Danino, 25, abducted from the site of a music festival in southern Israel where nearly 350 people were killed on October 7 during a Hamas-led attack.
Rights groups and international law experts say that hostage videos are, by definition, made under duress, and statements in them are usually made under duress. The circumstances of how the video was filmed were unclear, and the footage appears to have been edited. It is not clear when the video was shot.
For months, Egypt, Qatar and the United States have mediated sought to broker an agreement To end the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel and release the hostages. Two rounds of high-level talks in Cairo and Doha last month ended without success.
The two sides have signed off on the broad strokes of the deal but many key details are still being wrangled. The three-phase ceasefire will begin with a six-week truce during which Palestinian prisoners will be exchanged for hostages. During that first phase, Israel and Hamas will negotiate an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, and the release of remaining hostages.
In late July, Mr. Netanyahu ordered his negotiating team Hardening Israel’s position Key points of contention include that Israeli troops will be stationed along the Philadelphia corridor during the first phase of the deal.
On Monday, President Biden A word of rebuke Mr. Netanyahu’s reluctance to yield on terms for a cease-fire. Asked whether the Israeli prime minister was doing enough to get the hostages back, Mr. Biden said simply, “No.”
Asked about Mr. Biden’s comments, Mr. Netanyahu cited several occasions when Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken praised Israel’s conduct in the negotiations. After a meeting with Mr. Netanyahu in mid-August, Mr. Blinken sought to place responsibility on Hamas for not moving forward with the deal.
An Arab official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations, said Mr. Netanyahu’s insistence on maintaining Israeli control of the Philadelphia corridor posed a major obstacle to the agreement.
Hamas has repeatedly said that any ceasefire agreement leads to a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Egypt has also expressed strong opposition to a long-term Israeli presence on its border with Gaza.
“Without a withdrawal from the Philadelphia corridor, there will be no agreement,” Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya told pan-Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera this week.
Hamas officials have refused to participate in the latest round of talks, arguing that neither Israel nor the United States is serious about reaching an agreement acceptable to the militant group. Osama Hamdan, a senior Hamas official, described any new American proposal as an attempt to calm public anger over the failure to reach an agreement.
“Further negotiations are not necessary,” Mr. Hamdan said in a televised interview with Al Jazeera on Tuesday night, adding that Mr. Netanyahu needed to be forced to comply with the previous cease-fire offer.
“That is the solution – no more negotiations without any horizon,” Mr Hamdan added.
Israel and Egypt imposed a crushing blockade on the Gaza Strip when Hamas took full control of the area in 2007. – hoping to weaken the group – the enclave’s economy took a heavy hit. Israel imposed strict restrictions on the movement of goods and people by land and barricaded Gaza by sea.
Egypt says it has cracked down on weapons smuggling through the tunnel and its side. But Hamas still managed to bring in large quantities of weapons from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, according to Israeli officials.
Israeli troops moved along the Philadelphia corridor in May, determined to destroy Hamas’ extensive network of tunnels in the area, some of which Israel said were used to facilitate smuggling. Even the Israeli forces Rafah crossing captured In Egypt, officials argued that the same method was used to bring in ammunition.
Mr Netanyahu has insisted that any Israeli withdrawal from the area would mean Israel would face enormous pressure not to send its forces back. But Israeli military analysts have said that, in any case, Hamas will likely struggle to rebuild its capabilities during the initial six-week ceasefire.
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