Efforts are intensifying towards a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Islamist movement has given a “first positive confirmation” to a proposed truce and release of hostages held in the Palestinian territory, the spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry said this Thursday, February 1. “The Paris meeting made it possible to consolidate the proposals (…) This proposal was approved by the Israeli side and we now have a first positive confirmation from Hamas,” declared Majed al-Ansari, referring to a meeting last weekend between American, Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian representatives in France.
“The road ahead is still very difficult. We are optimistic because both sides have accepted the premises that would lead to a next break. We hope that in the next two weeks we will be able to share good news on this matter “, he added. A Hamas source in Gaza, however, told AFP that there was still no consensus on the proposal.
A three-phase plan
The leader of Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh, who lives in exile in Qatar, is expected in Egypt this Thursday or Friday to discuss a new cessation of fighting, almost four months after the start of the war triggered by the bloody attack of his movement against Israel on October 7. The talks are expected to focus on a proposal emerging from a recent meeting in Paris between CIA chief William Burns and Egyptian, Israeli and Qatari officials. According to a Hamas source, this is a three-phase proposal, the first of which provides for a six-week truce during which Israel will have to release between 200 and 300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages held in Gaza, and 200 to 300 aid trucks will be able to enter the Palestinian territory every day.
To support efforts for a second truce, the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, will return “in the coming days” to the Middle East.
At this stage, Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union in particular, is demanding a total ceasefire before any agreement. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks of a possible truce but affirms that he will only end the offensive once Hamas is eliminated, the hostages freed, and after having received guarantees on Israel’s future security .