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Israel has significantly softened its stance on the terms of a hostage deal with Hamas, raising hopes of a breakthrough in diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza.
After weeks of stalemate, Israel agreed to a proposal for an initial six-week pause in fighting during which Hamas would release 33 hostages, a diplomat briefed on the talks said. This would include children, the elderly, women, including female soldiers, and wounded prisoners.
That would be followed by a second phase calling for the “restoration of lasting calm,” language proposed by the United States, the diplomat said. Mediators hope this will overcome the main obstacle to a deal: Hamas’s insistence on a permanent ceasefire at the end of any deal, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has repeatedly rejected.
Israel also made concessions on other Hamas demands, including allowing Gazans to return to the north of the besieged strip. “It’s very positive,” said the diplomat.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Hamas had before it “an extraordinarily generous offer from Israel.”
“Right now, the only thing standing in the way of the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas,” Blinken said in Riyadh, where he met with Arab leaders. “They have to decide and they have to decide quickly. . . I hope they make the right decision and we can have a fundamental change in the dynamic.
A person close to the Israeli government’s position said it had “shown flexibility in negotiations” but said it would not agree to end the war that has raged for more than six months and that Israeli troops would remain in Gaza.
“But it might be possible to find a creative framework on these two issues to allow a hostage deal to be concluded,” the person said.
Hamas was discussing the latest proposal with mediators in Cairo, but did not respond officially. The United States, Qatar and Egypt facilitated the negotiations. Previous moments of optimism were dashed as mediators worked to narrow the gaps between the warring sides.
The apparent change in Israel’s position comes as the United States and other Western powers push for a hostage deal and an end to the fighting.
U.S. President Joe Biden discussed hostage negotiations with Netanyahu in a phone call on Sunday, and Blinken was expected to visit Israel this week.
Netanyahu has previously rejected Hamas’ demands for a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, insisting on the pursuit of “total victory.”
He also ordered the army to prepare an offensive on the town of Rafah in southern Gaza, where more than a million people have taken refuge, despite warnings from Western leaders against an attack in an area also densely populated.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Saturday that the government would “suspend” the threat of an incursion into Rafah if a ceasefire agreement against the hostages materializes.
But far-right members of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition have threatened to overthrow the government if it accepts the latest proposal.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday urged Netanyahu not to back down from an offensive on Rafah, saying that if the prime minister failed to eradicate Hamas, “a government that you lead will not have the right to exist.” .
An Israeli official said Sunday that preparations to enter Rafah were continuing. “Whatever the deal, if there is one, Israel will not abandon the goals of the war,” the official said.
Around 130 hostages remain in Gaza, although some may have died in captivity.
Reservists and male soldiers detained in the Gaza Strip will be released during the second phase of the agreement, the diplomat said.
In exchange, Israel would release Palestinians held in Israeli prisons and allow more aid to Gaza, which U.N. agencies say is on the brink of famine.
Hamas captured around 250 people in its October 7 attack that killed 1,200 people, according to Israel.
The Israeli attack on Gaza has killed more than 34,000 people, Palestinian health officials say, and has seriously weakened Hamas’ military capacity. But the Islamist movement’s top leaders, including Yahya Sinwar, who orchestrated the October 7 attack, remain at large and Israeli officials believe Hamas’s last four standing battalions are based in Rafah.
