Israel backs down and presents a ceasefire proposal agreeing to Hamas’ conditions

The American website “Axios” mentioned in a report yesterday, that the written proposal submitted by Israel to mediators for a new ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip includes “willingness to be flexible” regarding the hostage exchange and cessation of hostilities.

The American website stated that the written proposal, which was submitted to the main mediators Qatar and Egypt, was detailed and extensive regarding the general principles presented by Mossad director David Barnia during the meeting in Paris on Friday, May 24th, 2024.

The same source stated that the Israeli proposal includes “willingness to be flexible” regarding the number of living hostages to be released in the first humanitarian stage of the deal, in addition to readiness to discuss Hamas’ demand for “sustainable calm” in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation stated that Tel Aviv had submitted its proposal to renew negotiations for a prisoner exchange with Hamas and halt the firing in Gaza to Egyptian and Qatari mediators.

The official corporation said, “Israel handed over its proposal document today (Tuesday) to the mediators in Egypt and Qatar, to renew negotiations and release hostages and halt firing.”

It also added that “the talks are expected to resume next week in the Qatari capital, Doha.” The corporation quoted unnamed foreign parties participating in the negotiations as saying that “the expansion of Israeli military activities in Rafah (south of the Strip) will make the talks difficult.”

On Monday, May 27th, 2024, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan denied that his movement had received any confirmation from the mediators regarding Israel’s claim to have formulated a new deal for a prisoner exchange, emphasizing that the issue cannot be addressed before “a comprehensive cessation of aggression” on the Gaza Strip.

On Saturday, the Hebrew Broadcasting Authority claimed that the head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, David Barnea, met in Paris on Friday with CIA director William Burns and Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani and presented them with a “new proposal for a prisoner exchange deal formulated by the Israeli negotiating team.”

With mediation from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, Hamas and Israel have been conducting stalled indirect negotiations for months to reach an agreement for a prisoner exchange and halt the war on Gaza that erupted on October 7th, 2023.

Over two days, Cairo hosted the latest round of negotiations, before Hamas and Israeli delegations left the Egyptian capital on May 9th without announcing an agreement, despite the movement’s acceptance of a Qatari-Egyptian proposal, which Israel rejected.

Efforts to reach the final deal were hindered after Israel rejected it on the pretext that it “did not meet its conditions,” and it began a military operation in the city of Rafah on May 6th, followed by taking control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing the next day.

Amid a suffocating blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza for 18 years and escalating violations against the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, launched a surprise attack on military sites and settlements adjacent to the Strip on October 7th, capturing about 239 people.

Later, the factions exchanged 105 of these captives, some of whom were foreign workers, with many Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails during a temporary humanitarian ceasefire that lasted for seven days and ended in early December 2023.

While Tel Aviv speaks of the remaining 121 captives in the hands of the factions, the latter confirms the deaths of dozens of them in Israeli airstrikes on the Strip.

The Israeli war on Gaza left over 117,000 Palestinians dead or injured, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amidst massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and elderly.

Israel continues this war, ignoring a resolution from the Security Council demanding an immediate cessation of fighting and orders from the International Court to stop its attack on Rafah and take immediate measures to prevent “genocidal acts” and “improve the humanitarian situation” in Gaza.