There are still 136 hostages held by Hamas. According to media reports, Israel wants to secure their release with a new deal – in return for a two-month ceasefire. The pressure on the Netanyahu government is increasing.
According to a media report, Israel has proposed a two-month ceasefire in the Gaza war that has been raging for more than 100 days. The offer, which was made to mediators from Egypt and Qatar, is intended to lead to the release of all hostages held by the terrorist organization Hamas, the news portal “Axios” reported in the evening.
The author of the article, well-known and well-connected Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, cited two unnamed Israeli government officials.
Also Palestinian Prisoners should be released
According to the report, the first phase would include women and men over 60 years of age. Israeli soldiers and men under 60 who are not members of the military will then follow. Ultimately, Israeli soldiers and the remains of hostages will also be handed over.
As part of the plan, Israel and Hamas will reportedly agree in advance on a number of Palestinian prisoners who will be released in exchange for each hostage. The name of each Palestinian should then be negotiated.
136 hostages still held by Hamas
After the terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7th on areas in southern Israel, the terrorists are still holding 136 people in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli government figures. Around 25 of those kidnapped are probably no longer alive.
A two-month ceasefire would be the longest such offer the Israeli government has made to date. During a week-long ceasefire at the end of November, Hamas released 105 hostages. In return, Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners from its prisons. Since then, Israel’s government has shown little willingness to make concessions for further hostage releases. In December, Israeli soldiers accidentally shot and killed three hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Pressure on the government is growing
All of this led to increasingly loud criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Last weekend, thousands of people demonstrated in Israel to force them to make more serious efforts to rescue hostages. In Jerusalem, relatives of Hamas hostages set up a protest tent and said they would remain there until the government reached an agreement to release hostages. Yesterday, relatives stormed a meeting of the finance committee in the Israeli parliament. They shouted, “You will not sit here while they die there!”
The offer of a two-month ceasefire does not provide for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas or a longer-term political solution, according to the report. Israel’s military would therefore only withdraw from larger cities. The Palestinians who fled to the south of the Gaza Strip on the orders of the Israeli military would be able to return to the north.
The USA, Egypt and Qatar continue to mediate
The Israeli proposal was approved by the War Cabinet ten days ago, wrote Axios. Hamas had previously linked any new hostage releases to an end to the war. Egyptian and Qatari mediators have been trying for weeks to bridge the different demands. There is a three-step plan on the table that regulates the process of releasing hostages and cessation of hostilities.
At the beginning of the week, US President Joe Biden’s Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk arrived in the region to hold talks in Cairo and Doha, according to information from US media. In the October 7 attack, Gaza terrorists killed 1,200 people. The attack triggered the Gaza war. After massive air strikes, Israel’s armed forces entered the sealed-off coastal area and launched a ground offensive. The government’s stated goal is to destroy Hamas militarily and free the hostages.
Bettina Meier, ARD Tel Aviv, tagesschau, January 23, 2024 7:32 a.m