International pressure on Hamas to accept proposal in which Israel agrees to release 33 hostages

reported Monday evening The New York Times that Israel is prepared to reduce the original demand of forty hostages to 33. This would have to do with the fact that a number of hostages have died in captivity, meaning that there are no longer forty hostages in the ‘humanitarian’ category: women, children , the elderly and the sick.

A possible deal would see the sides agree to a 40-day ceasefire. In exchange for the 33 hostages, Israel is willing to release thousands of Palestinian prisoners. That is much more than during the lull in fighting in December, when Israel and Hamas exchanged hostages and prisoners for the first time. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his British counterpart David Cameron, among others, have already spoken of a ‘generous offer’.

The question is whether Hamas also thinks the same way. The organization is currently considering the proposal, but has left the negotiating table in Cairo, according to the AP news agency. Egyptian news channel Al-Qahera News reports that Hamas will return with a written response to the proposal, without saying when.

High game

Hamas encounters two objections in the negotiations, writes Al Jazeera. For example, Israel does not want a permanent ceasefire and is not prepared to talk about the withdrawal from Gaza. “That means they will continue to occupy Gaza,” Osama Hamdan of Hamas told the news channel. From the start, Hamas has insisted that the war must end before more hostages are released.

Israel is also playing high stakes. An Israeli delegation was expected to fly to the Egyptian capital Cairo on Tuesday to resume talks, but according to… The Times of Israel it will only appear at the negotiating table if Hamas accepts the latest proposal. US Secretary Blinken, who is currently in the Middle East to broker a ceasefire, increased the pressure. “The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire right now is Hamas.”

Another possible obstacle in the negotiations is the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Israel is said to be very concerned about impending arrest warrants that the ICC is preparing for high-ranking Israelis, including possibly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.

Cautious optimism

The coming hours and days promise to be exciting. Yet there is cautious optimism about the success of the latest proposal. For example, with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who – without specifying why – said he was ‘hopeful’ about the latest offer.

Until an agreement is reached, the fight will continue unabated. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas, said on Tuesday that 47 people were killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. In addition, 61 people were injured, the ministry wrote.

Netanyahu also appears unwilling to slow down for the time being. On Tuesday afternoon, he said, according to the Reuters news agency, that the ground operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah will continue regardless. “The idea that we will stop the war before we achieve all the objectives is not in question,” the Israeli prime minister said.