The war between Hamas and IsraelDossierAs negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement are set to take place in Cairo today, a Hamas official says a ceasefire “within twenty-four to forty-eight hours” is possible, but under conditions.
A senior Hamas official said on Sunday that a Gaza ceasefire was possible “within 24 to 48 hours” if Israel accepted the demands of the Palestinian Islamist movement. “If Israel agrees to Hamas’ demands, which include the return of displaced Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip and an increase in humanitarian aid, this could pave the way for an agreement [sur une trêve] in the next 24 or 48 hours,” this senior official said on condition of anonymity. He is calling for “400 to 500 trucks per day”, currently there are around 80. The negotiations are scheduled to take place on Sunday in Cairo and, according to Egyptian pro-government media, representatives from Hamas, Qatar and the United States arrived on site this Sunday. According to an Israeli official quoted by the Times of Israel website, Israel does not intend to send a delegation to the Egyptian capital this Sunday as long as Hamas refuses to publish the list of living hostages.
A six-week pause, the release of 42 hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners
In Cairo, a Hamas delegation must actually give an “official response” to a proposal drawn up at the end of January by the mediating countries – Qatar, US, Egypt – and Israeli negotiators, according to a source close to the Palestinian Islamist movement. The proposal calls for a six-week pause in fighting and the release of 42 hostages held in Gaza in a “first phase” in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. The Israelis had “more or less accepted” the plan, a senior American official in Washington said on Saturday. Israel has not confirmed this information. On Friday, US President Joe Biden reiterated his “hope” for a ceasefire by Ramadan, the holy month of Muslim fasting, which will begin on March 10 or 11 this year.
According to the latest report from the Hamas Ministry of Health, the Hamas-provoked war has left 30,320 dead in the Gaza Strip in almost five months, most of them civilians. It also caused a humanitarian disaster there. According to the United Nations, 2.2 million of the 2.4 million population are at risk of “almost inevitable” famine, according to Jens Laerke, spokesman for OCHA, the United Nations Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Hamas' health ministry reported that 16 children had died in recent days from “malnutrition and dehydration.”