Israel will have softened its positions and accepted a temporary ceasefire even if Hamas does not release all the hostages yet.
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The US administration has increased pressure on Hamas: Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, says that a new “extraordinarily generous” ceasefire proposal has been put up for consideration by the Palestinian group. Hamas representatives are currently in Cairo, in talks with Egyptian mediators.
Before visiting Israel, Blinken publicly encouraged Hamas to accept the new Israeli proposal. No details have been officially released but, according to the Israeli press and a senior Egyptian official, Israel has softened positions and reduced the number of hostages it demands to be released in exchange for an initial six-week ceasefire. Tel Aviv also promised the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
However, the international press questions whether Israel’s concession in the number of hostages to be released will be enough for Hamas to accept the conditions proposed for a second phase of the ceasefire. Hamas demands the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip in exchange for the eventual release of all hostages, but Tel Aviv has so far offered an extended pause in hostilities, guaranteeing that it will then resume the offensive. And it is this difference, according to the AP, that has prevented an understanding between the parties in the last few months of talks, which have involved Israel and Hamas but also North American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
The Israeli press and some local commentators, cited by AP, admit that Tel Aviv is currently at a crossroads: Netanyahu has to decide whether he wants to reach a possible agreement to end the war or, on the other hand, whether he wants to put pressure on and continue with the ground offensive in Rafah – against which the United States, Israel’s biggest allies, has already spoken out – trying to put an end to Hamas even at the risk of being isolated on an international level.
More than a million Palestinians have sought refuge in Rafah since the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip began in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas.
According to Hamas’ most recent report, the war in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 people.
Tags: Blinken pressures Hamas accept extraordinarily generous ceasefire proposal
