Never in weeks has the hope of concluding a truce in Gaza been so strong, writes the Lebanese daily The Orient By Day. After 15 months of war, negotiations aimed at freeing the 94 hostages still held in Gaza, 34 of whom the army said died, and concluding a truce agreement have intensified in recent days. Ceasefire talks appear to be gaining new momentum as mediators push to end fighting and release hostages before Donald Trump takes office, notes The New York Times.
American President Joe Biden, who will hand over to the latter in a week, affirmed this Monday, January 13 that a truce agreement associated with a release of hostages was “on the verge of being concluded”, based on a American proposal presented several months ago. “Significant progress on the last blocking points” has been made towards an agreement, a source close to the negotiations told AFP. Another source indicating, still to AFP, that the “last round” of negotiations for a truce was to begin this Tuesday in Qatar, with a view to “finalizing the last details of the agreement”.
A deal this week?
On Monday, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, met with envoys from Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as a delegation from Hamas to discuss a truce agreement. The White House also indicated that Joe Biden had spoken with Sheikh Tamim. “We are close to an agreement and we can get there this week,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. “I’m not making any promises or predictions, but it’s within reach,” he added.
A senior Palestinian official close to Hamas as well as Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also reported progress. “Israel is serious about releasing the hostages and is working hard to reach an agreement. Negotiations are progressing,” said Gideon Saar. “The current round of negotiations is the most serious and in-depth and has made it possible to achieve significant progress,” the Palestinian official told AFP on condition of anonymity. The main Israeli security chiefs visited Qatar this weekend, a sign of the seriousness of these negotiations.
The heart of the agreement provides for an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and a six-week ceasefire during which Israeli troops will withdraw from Gaza. Subsequently, new negotiations will have to be carried out to try to achieve new exchanges of hostages for prisoners and a definitive end to the war. Initially, 33 Israeli hostages, alive or dead, must be released, including women, elderly men and sick hostages.
New Israeli strikes on Gaza
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretzreaching an agreement is essential to save the hostages, even if it will be necessary to pay a heavy price. “The looming deal means Israel will give up on destroying the Hamas regime, leaving the terror group free to consolidate its position in Palestinian society – but it has no choice: hostages and soldiers killed in Gaza without reason are irrelevant,” writes the daily in its Tuesday edition. Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, recently promised “hell” for the region if the hostages were not released before his return to power.
While indirect negotiations carried out under the aegis of Qatar, the United States and Egypt intensify, Israel increases strikes against the Palestinian Islamist movement. On Monday, the Israeli army bombarded the city of Gaza, in the north of the territory, throughout the day, killing more than 50 people according to emergency services. “Schools, homes and even gatherings” were targeted, Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told AFP. At least 46,584 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Israeli military campaign of retaliation in Gaza, according to data from the Hamas government’s Health Ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.