A Hamas delegation is due to arrive Monday in Egypt, where it will respond to Israel’s latest proposal for a long-sought hostage-release deal and truce in the Gaza Strip after almost seven months of war.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for months, as the death toll in Gaza rises and calls for a deal intensify.
But despite intense pressure to reach a ceasefire, secure the release of hostages held in Gaza and allow more humanitarian aid into the war-battered territory, a deal has remained elusive.
The Palestinian Islamist group said Sunday it had no “major issues” with the content of Israel’s most recent offer for a truce.
“The atmosphere is positive unless there are new Israeli obstacles,” a senior Hamas official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Humanitarians say the war has brought Gaza to the brink of famine, reduced much of it to rubble and raised fears of broader conflict.
More than one million Palestinians have taken shelter in southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Protesters in Israel are demanding that the government secure the freedom of hostages seized by militants during the unprecedented October 7 attack that triggered the war.
Since a one-week halt to the fighting in November saw 80 Israeli hostages exchanged for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been working to secure a new truce.
Israel estimates that 129 hostages are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.
Hamas has previously insisted on a permanent ceasefire — a condition Israel has rejected.
‘A complete failing’
However, the Axios news website, citing two Israeli officials, reported that Israel’s latest proposal includes a willingness to discuss the “restoration of sustainable calm” in Gaza after hostages are released.
It is the first time that Israeli leaders have suggested they are open to discussing an end to the war, Axios said.
A Hamas source close to the negotiations had told AFP the group “is open to discussing the new proposal positively” and is “keen to reach an agreement that guarantees a permanent ceasefire, the free return of displaced people, an acceptable deal for (prisoner) exchange and ensuring an end to the siege” in Gaza.
As diplomatic efforts intensified, US President Joe Biden spoke with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone Sunday and reviewed the ongoing talks, the White House said.
At a summit in Riyadh beginning Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the international community had failed Gaza.
“The situation in Gaza obviously is a catastrophe by every measure –- humanitarian, but also a complete failing of the existing political system to deal with that crisis,” Prince Faisal told the World Economic Forum (WEF) special meeting.
He reiterated that only “a credible, irreversible path to a Palestinian state” will prevent the world from confronting “this same situation two, three, four years down the line”.
Netanyahu’s hard-right government rejects calls for a Palestinian state.
