New proposal for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip

2024-01-30 21:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Hamas said on Tuesday it was considering a new proposal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza, put forward by mediators after talks with Israel, in what appeared to be the most serious peace initiative in months.

A senior Hamas official said the proposal included a three-phase ceasefire, during which the group would first release the remaining civilians among the hostages it seized on October 7, then the soldiers and finally the bodies of the hostages who were killed.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not say how long the three phases would last or what was expected to follow the final phase.

But this is the first time details of a new proposal, which has been under consideration by both sides since a brief cessation of hostilities in late November, have been published.

The cease-fire proposal followed talks in Paris attended by CIA director William Burns, Qatar's prime minister, the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence service and the head of Egypt's intelligence service.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said he would go to Cairo to discuss the proposal, his first public trip there in more than a month.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his pledge not to withdraw troops from the Gaza Strip until "final victory", confirming the wide gap in the warring parties' public attitudes about what should be done to stop the fighting even temporarily.

Hamas, whose fighters attacked Israeli cities on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, says it will release the remaining hostages only as part of a wider deal to end the war for good.

Israel, which according to unconfirmed independent Hamas figures has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians so far in a war that has devastated the territory, says it will not stop fighting until the militant group, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, be completely eradicated.

Netanyahu is under pressure from Israel's closest ally, the United States, to chart a clear path to ending the war, and under pressure at home from relatives of hostages who fear negotiations are the only way to return them. those at home. But far-right parties in his ruling coalition say they will withdraw rather than agree to a hostage-release deal that leaves Hamas intact.

ATTACK ON THE HOSPITAL

The diplomatic breakthrough was announced hours after Israeli special forces, disguised as medical workers and Muslim women, entered a West Bank hospital and killed three Palestinian militants, including a paralyzed fighter who was shot dead in bed where he was being treated.

Security camera footage from the operation at Ibn Sina hospital in the West Bank city of Jenin shows about 12 members of the special forces, including three in women's clothing and two dressed as Palestinian medical personnel, walking through a corridor. with a rifle in his hands.

Hamas said one of those killed was a member of theirs. Islamic Jihad said the other two killed were brothers who belonged to their organization. Ibn Sina hospital officials said one of the brothers had received treatment for an injury that had paralyzed his legs.

The Israeli military said one of those killed was armed and one was planning an attack on Israel similar to the one on October 7 from inside the hospital. He said the incident showed that militants were using civilian areas and hospitals to hide and as "human shields".