In the Middle East, there is agitation for a truce in Gaza. After the agreement in Lebanon, we once again seem close to a ceasefire in the Palestinian strip of land. On the Israeli side first, we seem ready to put away our weapons – at least for a while. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar indicated on Monday that Israel was working “hard” to obtain an agreement that would end the war in the Gaza Strip and allow the release of hostages held in the Palestinian territory.
“Israel is serious about releasing the hostages and is working hard to reach an agreement. Negotiations are progressing,” he said at a joint press conference with his Danish counterpart, Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
Indirect negotiations for the release of the 94 hostages, 34 of whom died according to the army, and a truce agreement with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, have intensified in recent days.
Despite intense diplomatic efforts led under the aegis of Qatar, Egypt and the United States, no truce has been concluded since that of a week at the end of November 2023, which saw the release of ‘a hundred hostages.
Negotiations had already taken place in Doha last December, but Hamas and Israel then accused each other of stopping them.
According to Israeli commentators, an agreement is now within reach, in particular because of the decision of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ignore pressure from his far-right ministers, members of his coalition, reinforced in early November by the rallying of Gideon Saar’s center-right party.
“We are close to an agreement and we can get there this week,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday, referring to discussions on a ceasefire in Gaza.
“I’m not making any promises or predictions, but it’s within reach,” he also said about an agreement that would be accompanied by the release of hostages held in the gang. Gaza.
-According to Haaretz, the first phase of the agreement emerging between Israel and Hamas will allow the release of 33 hostages classified in the “humanitarian” group, including women, children, men over 55 and the sick, according to Israeli officials. Hamas has not yet responded on the condition of these hostages, although Israeli sources believe most of them are alive.
Under the agreement, the IDF is not expected to withdraw from Gaza until all hostages have been returned, but will allow residents of the southern Gaza Strip to return to the north.
Sixteen days after the signing of the agreement, discussions on the second phase should begin and lead to the release of the remaining hostages, according to the Israeli media.
“Progress in truce negotiations”
Faced with rumors of an imminent agreement, far-right Israeli Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would not support a “surrender agreement that would include the release of “hyper-terrorists,” the cessation of war, and the loss of what was acquired at the cost of much bloodshed and the abandonment of a large number of hostages.
Meanwhile, on the Hamas side, we turned towards Qatar. The emir of the small country with great influence met on Monday with the Middle East envoys of the incoming and outgoing US administrations over a truce in the Gaza Strip, his office said in a statement.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani met with Steve Witkoff, President-elect Donald Trump’s envoy-designate for the Middle East, and Brett McGurk, President Joe Biden’s envoy-designate for the region, according to the statement. They “examined developments in the Gaza Strip (…) as well as the latest progress in the truce negotiations,” he added. The sheikh also met with Steve Witkoff, President-elect Donald Trump’s envoy-designate for the Middle East, and Brett McGurk, President Joe Biden’s envoy-designate for the region, according to the statement. They “examined developments in the Gaza Strip (…) as well as the latest progress in the truce negotiations,” he added.
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