CAIRO TALKS EDGE CLOSER TO NEW SEVEN-DAY GAZA TRUCE
▶ Diplomatic efforts continue to establish a pause in the fighting as medical officials warn of growing healthcare crisis in the enclave
An agreement for a seven-day pause in the Israel-Gaza war is edging closer, with Israel and Hamas to exchange detainees and hostages during the proposed truce, Egyptian officials have told The National.
But the officials warned on Thursday that the situation was fragile and last-minute issues could delay or even derail the process.
While Hamas announced previously that no hostages would be freed until Israel withdrew its troops from the enclave, negotiations have taken place on the framework of a deal.
One issue is the demand for the release of Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah member who has been described as a possible future Palestinian president.
Barghouti, 64, was given a life sentence by an Israeli court in 2004 after being convicted of murder.
Talks on the potential truce have been conducted mostly by intelligence and security operatives who are in regular contact with political leaders.
If the agreement is finalised, Israel is expected to free about 300 Palestinians from its prisons, including Barghouti and several other high-profile detainees serving life sentences.
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad would release at least 50 hostages in Gaza, mostly women and elderly people, in exchange, the sources said.
The deal is being mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar.
The sources said Washington was eager for a pause to be agreed on quickly.
It comes amid a backdrop of diplomacy to bring a halt to the conflict, which has caused the deaths of more than 20,000 Gazans. Israel has been under increasing international pressure, with the UN Security Council on Friday scheduled to hold a much-delayed vote on a resolution calling for an end to hostilities.
The resolution, drafted by the UAE, would call for more aid to be allowed into the enclave.
Before the vote, the US expressed “serious and widespread concerns” about the resolution. “We must ensure any resolution helps and doesn’t hurt the situation on the ground,” said Nate Evans, spokesman for the US mission to the UN.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said a failure to pass the vote would be a sign of “dangerous double standards” and accused Israel of obstructing the flow of aid into Gaza.
The situation in the enclave has worsened as Israel continues its bombardment, with Gazan health authorities saying there are thousands trapped under rubble.
A UN official told The National six of the 36 hospitals in the enclave were still functioning.
The World Health Organisation said it wanted to “resuscitate” Al Shifa Hospital in the north by sending supplies.
Israel and Hamas are close to reaching an agreement on a seven-day pause in hostilities in Gaza, during which a detainee and hostage swap would take place, Egyptian officials have told The National.
While Hamas has said no hostages will be freed until Israel withdraws from the enclave, the framework of an agreement is being negotiated. However, the sources said last-minute issues could delay or even derail the process.
One issue is the release of Marwan Barghouti, a popular member of the Fatah faction who has often been put forward as a possible future Palestinian president.
Barghouti, 64, was imprisoned for life by an Israeli court after being convicted of murder in 2004.
Talks on the truce are conducted mostly by intelligence and security operatives who are in constant contact with political leaders.
If the agreement is finalised, Israel is expected to free about 300 Palestinians from its prisons, including Barghouti and several other high-profile detainees serving life sentences.
In exchange, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad would release at least 50 hostages, mostly women and elderly people, the sources said on Thursday.
Hamas has also asked for the release of Ibrahim Hamed, a founding member of the group’s military wing, the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades.
The deal is being mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar, and the sources said Washington was particularly eager for an agreement to be struck quickly.
The US reportedly wants to turn its attention to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade and forcing some shipping companies to avoid the area altogether.
On Wednesday, Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh led a senior delegation in talks with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and his senior aides in Cairo.
The talks touched on the proposed hostage and detainee swap and truce, but focused primarily on the future of Gaza, the sources said.
If Israel and Hamas agree to a truce, they may use the time to negotiate the terms of a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, and the future governance of the enclave, the sources said.
Talks on Gaza’s future are believed to be far more complicated than the truce negotiations, and are expected to continue for years. “No one seems to have a comprehensive vision of what will become of Gaza,” one Egyptian official said.
“Variables change and new ones emerge all the time, and a great deal of what happens in Gaza appears dependent on goodwill.”
Israel wants to create at least four buffer zones inside Gaza to prevent militants from accessing its territory – a demand Hamas is said to oppose.
Among the postwar proposals are a demilitarised Palestinian state in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Hamas has publicly opposed demilitarisation. Es
Israel wants to create at least four buffer zones in Gaza to deny militants access, a demand Hamas vehemently opposes
sential to the process is the reconciliation of Hamas and Fatah, which dominates the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, the sources said. Hamas violently expelled Fatah from Gaza in 2007, two years after Israel unilaterally pulled out of the enclave, ending a 38-year occupation. Hamas has since ruled the strip alone.
Under some scenarios, a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation would be followed by elections in which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, 88, would be replaced by a younger leader accepted by most Palestinians and their factions.
A transitional government would be formed after the elections and a UN-led multinational force would be stationed temporarily in Gaza.
However, the sources said, a major hurdle is that the war has made large parts of the strip uninhabitable, requiring lengthy and expensive reconstruction.
Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and several Gulf states have been nominated to lead what promises to be a multibillion-dollar rebuilding drive in Gaza.