Gaza truce effort builds with Hamas to respond to Israel proposal

AFP | New Delhi     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Diplomatic efforts intensified yesterday to reach a long-sought truce and hostage-release deal in Gaza, as Hamas said it would travel to mediator Egypt to deliver its response after Israel’s latest proposal.

The Israeli government has come under intense pressure from its global allies to reach a ceasefire, as well as from protesters within Israel demanding the release of hostages held by Hamas.

A delegation from the Islamist movement will arrive in Egypt on Monday to deliver the group’s response to Israel’s new hostage and truce counterproposal, a senior Hamas official told AFP.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate a new truce ever since a one-week halt to the fighting in November saw 80 Israeli hostages exchanged for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Hamas has previously insisted on a permanent ceasefire -- a condition that 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 in the nearly seven-month war that Israeli leaders have suggested they are open to discussing an end to the war, Axios said.

A Hamas source close to the negotiations told AFP the group “is open to discussing the new proposal positively”. The source added that Hamas 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.

‘Momentum’ in truce talks

Gaza’s health ministry yesterday reported at least 66 deaths in the past 24 hours, down from a peak this month of at least 153 deaths on April 9.

Israel carried out air strikes and shelling in Gaza overnight Saturday-Sunday, hitting three houses in the southern city of Khan Yunis, an AFP correspondent said, also reporting strikes on Gaza City and Rafah.

The Israeli military said its jets had struck dozens of targets including “launch sites, armed terrorists and observation posts”.

On the side of a tent in Rafah on the weekend, a Palestinian wrote a message to the thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters on US university campuses. “Thank you, students in solidarity with Gaza, your message has reached,” it read.

Demonstrators push deal

In Israel, protesters have regularly taken to the streets, including at a heated rally in Tel Aviv late Saturday demanding that Netanyahu strike a deal that would free the hostages.

Hours earlier, Hamas released a video featuring two hostages, Keith Siegel and Omri Miran, who appeared to speak under duress.

“Keep protesting, so that there will be a deal now,” Miran said in the footage. “We are in danger here. There are bombs. It is stressful and scary,” said Siegel, a 64-year-old US citizen.

United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA has warned that “famine thresholds in Gaza will be breached within the next six weeks” if a massive amount of food aid does not reach the territory. At a market in Rafah, shoppers said fresh vegetables are selling at double or more their pre-war prices.