Hamas Responds Positively to 60-Day Gaza Cease-Fire Proposal

Hamas has submitted a response to a new proposal for a 60-day Gaza cease-fire with Israel, saying it is "positive" and ready to immediately enter negotiations on implementing it. The proposal,brokered by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, calls for hostage-for-prisoner swaps and negotiations leading to a permanent end to the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza. However, it is unclear whether Hamas is demanding any significant changes to the proposal, and whether any gaps can be easily bridged or create new hurdles to an agreement.

Key Takeaways:

• The new proposal for a 60-day Gaza cease-fire calls for hostage-for-prisoner swaps and negotiations leading to a permanent end to the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza.
• Hamas has responded positively to the proposal, saying it is "characterized as being positive" and is ready to immediately enter negotiations.
• The proposal requires Israel to pull back troops deployed in Gaza, but the details of that pullback are not immediately clear.
• Hamas has insisted on a lasting end to the war before releasing all the remaining hostages, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Hamas's military and governing capabilities must be dismantled.
• The two sides have come close before to such agreements, only to see them unravel at the last minute over the details.
• The primary obstacle to getting a deal between Hamas and Israel has been the permanence of any cease-fire.
• Hamas's new de facto leader, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, has stated his terms, including Israel withdrawing from Gaza, ending the war, releasing Palestinian prisoners, and lifting restrictions on the entry and exit of goods.
• Hamas has a new de facto leader in Gaza, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, who Israel says took over the military wing after its forces killed the former Hamas leader Muhammad Sinwar.

Statistics:

• The Gaza war began with a Hamas-led attack from Gaza on October 7, 2023, and has killed about 1,200 people, according to Israel, and some 250 other people were abducted to Gaza.
• Israel believes up to 20 living hostages remain in Gaza.
• Israel's retaliation has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, including thousands of children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
• Almost all of the roughly two million Palestinian residents of Gaza have been displaced at one point during the war, many of them repeatedly, and hunger is widespread.
• The proposal calls for the handover of 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others during the 60-day cease-fire in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.
• The releases would be staggered over five stages, and Hamas would have to refrain from holding televised handover ceremonies like those it staged during the cease-fire earlier this year.

Sources:

• The New York Times, February 25, 2024
• Truth Social, February 25, 2024
• Al Jazeera, January 2024