Hamas says it is studying in a “positive spirit” the latest truce offer associated with the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip where nearly seven months of deadly war have caused “unprecedented” destruction according to the UN.
While the mediating countries (Qatar, Egypt, United States) await Hamas’ response to this new proposal, medical sources in the Gaza Strip reported on Friday Israeli strikes in the Rafah sector (south). And Israel announced the death of one of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, Dror Or, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, two of whose children, also kidnapped on October 7 by Hamas, had been released at the end of November as part of a first truce. This week-long truce allowed the release of 105 hostages against 240 Palestinians detained by Israel. Since then, numerous attempts at mediation have been unsuccessful.
Hamas is studying in a “positive spirit” the new offer on the table, for a 40-day break in fighting, its leader, Ismaïl Haniyeh, said Thursday in a telephone conversation with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel. During this interview, Ismaïl Haniyeh “confirmed” that a delegation from the movement would go to Egypt “shortly” to complete recent discussions with a view to a possible agreement which “meets the demands of our people” and “puts an end to to aggression.
The leader of Hamas, whose movement is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States, also spoke with the Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs, to whom he repeated his wish to “reach an agreement” . These comments clash with those the day before of a leader of the movement who spoke of a currently “negative” position of Hamas regarding these negotiations. Hamas, which took power in 2007 in Gaza, maintains its demands, first and foremost a permanent ceasefire, which Israel has always refused.
Visiting Israel on Wednesday, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Hamas to say “yes” to an agreement that he considered “extraordinarily generous” on the part of Israel. He also urged Israel to renounce a ground offensive on the city of Rafah, the last major bastion of the Islamist movement according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where there are a million and a half Palestinians, the majority displaced by the war.
“We will do what is necessary to win and defeat our enemy, including in Rafah,” Benjamin Netanyahu repeated Thursday, after promising to launch a ground offensive there, “with or without an agreement” of truce.
