Hamas and two other Palestinian groups – Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – affirmed this Saturday, December 21 thata ceasefire agreement was 'closer than ever' for the Gaza Stripscene of more than a year of war with Israel.
“The possibility of reaching an agreement (for a ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners) is closer than ever if the enemy stops imposing new conditions,” the three groups said in a rare joint statement after having gathered in Cairo on Friday evening.
They underlined everyone's “commitment to putting an end to the war” in Gaza, triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023.
“The deal could be finalized before the end of the year”
Indirect negotiations last week in Qatar between Israel and Hamas, with Doha and Egypt as mediators, have revived hopes of an agreement on a truce and a release of hostages in Gaza.
A Hamas official told AFP this Saturday that the discussions had “significant and important progress” these last few days. “Most of the points concerning the ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners are the subject of an agreement,” he indicated, on condition of anonymity.
“Other points remain to be discussed, but they do not call into question the process. The agreement could be finalized before the end of the year if (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu does not impose new conditions,” he added. While specifying that a possible agreement would be put in place gradually.
The permanent nature or not of the ceasefire as a sticking point
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken said Thursday, December 19, that he had “good hope” of achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, without however “risking giving probabilities.” “It must succeed. People must return home,” he insisted, referring to the hostages still held in Gaza.
As a reminder, the attack of October 7, 2023 led to the death of 1,208 people on the Israeli sidemostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures and including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip. That day, 251 people were kidnapped on Israeli soil, 96 of whom remain hostages in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army.
More than 45,000 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli military campaign of retaliation in the Palestinian territory, the majority civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health of the Hamas government for Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN.
Despite intense diplomatic efforts, no truce has been concluded between Israel and Hamas since that of a week at the end of November 2023. Until then, the main sticking point in the negotiations concerned the permanent nature or not of the ceasefire.
On several occasions, Benjamin Netanyahu has also declared that he is opposed to a withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Philadelphia corridora strip of land controlled by the Israeli army along the Gaza-Egypt border. While the governance of Gaza after the war is also still widely debated, including within the Palestinian ruling class. Israel strongly opposes Hamas ever ruling the territory again.
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