On a recent Friday, Hamas, the Palestinian militant organization, proclaimed it had reacted favorably toward a novel proposition for a two-month truce in Gaza with Israel, and was prepared to embark on discussions for its enforcement at the earliest. The exact requirements from Hamas vis-a-vis this proposal cardinal changes were not apparent immediately. On the same note, potential hurdles or easy to bridge gaps, if any, were also not crystal clear. Previous attempts made by both the parties to reach an accord have, unfortunately, collapsed in their final stages over trivial disagreements.
This new suggestion advocates for an exchange of hostages for prisoners and seeks to facilitate talks aiming to bring an end to the ongoing warfare in Gaza that has persisted for just under two years. The major hurdle in sealing a deal between Hamas and Israel in the past has consistently been the longevity of the cease-fire. Hamas has continued to reiterate their insistence on finalizing the termination of warfare before letting go of all hostages presently held.
The impetus for the conflict was a raid conducted by Hamas from Gaza on October 7, 2023. The grim outcome of this attack was roughly 1,200 casualties as estimated by Israel, with an additional 250 individuals captured and transported to Gaza. As per Israeli intelligence, it is believed that up to 20 of these captives might still be alive in Gaza.
In retaliation to the onslaught, Israel engaged in aggressive military actions leading to the loss of over 57,000 Palestinian lives, a significant number of them being children. This data was provided by the health ministry of Gaza, which doesn’t segregate the data between non-combatant and combatant fatalities.
Almost the entire population of roughly two million Palestinian residents in Gaza has experienced displacement at least once since the advent of the conflict. In numerous cases, individuals witnessed displacement multiple times. Widespread hunger amongst the masses is a dire concern that can’t be ignored any further.
Individuals with knowledge about the recent truce proposition mentioned that it mandates the release of 10 living captives as well as the remains of 18 deceased individuals over the cease-fire period of 60 days. This release would be reciprocated by the freedom of numerous Palestinian inmates.
The strategy for conducting the discharge is planned to be completed in five sequential phases. Additionally, Hamas is expected to abstain from televising the release ceremonies like they executed earlier this year during the cease-fire. This broadcast had resulted in widespread fury amongst Israelis who associated these ceremonies with humiliation.
The fresh proposal asserts that the United States along with the Arabic mediators, Egypt and Qatar, would pledge to ensure sincere negotiations to terminate the war during the cease-fire. This is a significant highlight of the new arrangements proposed.
Izz al-Din al-Haddad is the newly instated de facto leader in Gaza for Hamas, as stated by Israel. After the Israeli forces caused the demise of the former Hamas leader, Muhammad Sinwar, al-Haddad assumed control of the military wing.
Al-Haddad is acknowledged as the chief strategist behind the October 7 attack and is believed to be fundamentally against any efforts designed to dethrone Hamas from its position of power. He revealed his conditions in a documentary that was broadcast on Al Jazeera in late January.
He laid down his terms which included Israel’s pullout from Gaza and termination of the war. Additionally, he insisted on the release of Palestinian prisoners. He is also pressing for allowing reconstruction work to commence in the enclave and the removal of any restrictions on the movement and the transfer of commodities.