- By Paul Adams, diplomatic correspondent, in Jerusalem
- BBC News
6 hours ago
Image source: Shutterstock
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The people of Gaza have been bombarded for months as Israel tries to destroy Hamas
At the site of the Nova festival in southern Israel, which was attacked by Hamas gunmen on October 7, the families and friends of Israeli hostages began a long march to Jerusalem on Wednesday.
Hundreds of Israelis were killed at the festival site near Kibbutz Re'im and hundreds more were deported to Gaza.
Protesters carry pictures of those still missing and demand their government do more to bring the remaining 134 hostages home.
Their hopes were raised by talks of a ceasefire.
“One hundred and forty-five endless days and nights of longing for our loved ones,” Ronen Neutra said in his address to the crowd.
Ronen's 22-year-old son Omer is somewhere in Gaza.
“We send them strength and ask them to hold on a little longer,” said Ronen.
“Omer, just a little longer. A deal is possible.”
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Israeli protesters say they will reach Jerusalem on Saturday
Since mediators from the United States, Egypt and Qatar met in Paris last weekend, the Israeli press has been abuzz with talk of an agreement to end the fighting.
But what could a deal look like?
It is believed that a ceasefire could last six weeks. During this time, 40 Israeli hostages would gradually be released. Female civilians and soldiers would be released first.
In return, around 400 Palestinian prisoners, some of whom were convicted of serious terrorist offenses, would be released from Israeli prisons.
Israeli soldiers could leave some of the most densely populated areas in the Gaza Strip, and some of the 1.8 million Palestinians displaced by fighting since October may be able to return to their homes in the north.
But with talks still taking place this week in Qatar – where Egyptian and Qatari mediators are shuttling between Israeli and Hamas delegates – it is clear that most questions remain unresolved.
There is reportedly still a dispute over how many Palestinian prisoners will be released per Israeli hostage.
No agreement is yet expected on the redistribution of Israeli soldiers or the return of Palestinians to their homes.
But Haim Tomer, a former Mossad department head with experience in previous negotiations, told me he was optimistic.
“I think we’re pretty close,” he said.
“I am not saying that we will definitely see the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. But I think the negotiations are progressing.”
He cited comments from Qatar-based Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who on Wednesday gave the first indirect indication that the group may soften its position on a deal.
“Any flexibility we show in the negotiations,” he said in a televised address, “is aimed at protecting the blood of our people and putting an end to their great pain and sacrifice in the brutal war of annihilation against them.”
Mr. Haniyeh further said that Hamas was prepared to continue fighting if necessary, and he called on Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem to defy Israeli restrictions and go to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to march.
The reference to “flexibility” suggested that Hamas may be reconsidering its demands – a complete cessation of fighting and the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza – which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a “delusion.”
However, Hamas has not yet officially responded to the proposals drawn up in Paris.
It is also not known what Gaza's Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, thinks about the deal.
He was last filmed in an underground tunnel somewhere beneath Khan Yunis or Rafah.
His guerrilla army above him is slowly being destroyed and the Israeli government has vowed to capture him.
Israeli officials have suggested that Mr. Sinwar's authority has been severely undermined by five and a half months of devastating bombardment and the deaths of tens of thousands of his people.
Such reports are difficult to verify, but one thing is certain: it is becoming increasingly difficult to communicate with the man who launched the October 7 attacks.
Meanwhile, the families and friends of the remaining hostages are on the move. They say they will reach Jerusalem on Saturday.
Will good news await them when they get there?