Negotiations on a temporary ceasefire and a hostage deal are proving difficult. According to a report, there is now movement. The news at a glance.
According to media reports, in the difficult indirect negotiations over a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza war and an exchange of hostages for prisoners, Israel is said to be prepared to partially respond to the demands of the Islamist Hamas. The Jewish state would now release 700 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons if Hamas released 40 of around 100 Israeli hostages still alive, wrote the usually well-informed Israeli journalist Barak Ravid in the evening on the news portal “Walla” and on the platform X, previously Twitter. Among the Palestinians to be released would be 100 prisoners who received life sentences for terrorist crimes.
The negotiations, which have been dragging on for several months, are currently underway in the Qatari capital Doha with the mediation of the USA, Egypt and Qatar. They aim for an agreement in several phases.
The first step would involve a six-week ceasefire and the release of 40 hostages held by Hamas. The original proposal, which Israel accepted, would have included the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners, including 25 with life sentences. This did not go far enough for Hamas. The new formula was proposed by Qatar and initially rejected by Israel. Ravid wrote that Israel had changed its mind in the last few days at the urging of CIA chief William Burns, who had come to Doha especially.
Gallant travels to the USA
According to his ministry, Defense Minister Joav Galant left for Washington today. The talks with Israel’s most important ally are about a planned ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The USA rejects this because there are currently around 1.5 million people there.
The Gaza war was triggered by the attack by Hamas and other groups in southern Israel on October 7th. The terrorists killed 1,200 people in the massacre and kidnapped 250 others as hostages in the Gaza Strip. Israel attacked the coastal area to crush Hamas. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 32,000 Palestinians have died – both civilians and fighters.
Baerbock calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is demanding that Israel and the Islamist Hamas give in to the negotiations in Qatar. “Only an immediate humanitarian ceasefire that leads to a permanent ceasefire will keep hope for peace alive – for Palestinians and Israelis alike,” demanded the Green politician before renewed crisis talks on Monday and Tuesday. It is Baerbock’s sixth visit to Israel since Hamas’ bloody terrorist attack on the country on October 7th.
The deaths of the people in Gaza and the suffering of the more than 100 hostages still held captive by Hamas are intertwined, Baerbock recalled. “The suffering must end for everyone.” The negotiations in Doha, the capital of the Gulf Emirate of Qatar, should now finally lead to success.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz reacted negatively to Baerbock’s call for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. “We expect our friends to continue to support Israel in these challenging times and not to weaken it against the terrorist organization Hamas,” he wrote on X. A humanitarian ceasefire cannot be announced without the release of the Israeli hostages. Regarding humanitarian assistance to Gaza, “we need to work on it together,” he added.
Disagreements between Israel and its ally USA
In view of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal area, Israel is increasingly exposed to international pressure – including from its ally the USA. The USA and Israel disagree about the ground offensive in Rafah planned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin intends to present alternative military options to the Israeli delegation in Washington. There are fears that a major military offensive could result in a lot of bloodshed.
Netanyahu had already announced the Rafah offensive at the beginning of February and approved the military’s plans for it several times. It was necessary to destroy Hamas’ last four battalions and thus destroy the Islamist organization’s military fighting ability, it was said.
