On Saturday, January 11, the office of the Israeli Prime Minister announced that Netanyahu decided to send a high-level delegation to Qatar to seal a ceasefire and captives-for-prisoners swap deal with Hamas. The delegation includes David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (Mossad), Ron Bar, the Director of the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet), IOF captives’ point man Major General Nitzan Alon, and Netanyahu’s political advisor Ophir Falk.
Israeli media had said on Friday that Qatar, which is a main mediator in Gaza’s ceasefire talks, sent a “highly positive message” to Israel regarding Hamas’s intention to move forward in negotiations. The message focuses on the list of Israeli captives, who would be released and other points of disagreements between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu is said to have held an assessment meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz and the negotiating team after receiving the message.
For its part, the United States expressed cautious optimism regarding a possible ceasefire deal on the horizon. The US National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, told reporters on Friday: “We think it’s possible, but not without a lot of hard work still ahead of us”.
“It is something we very, very much want to get completed, not just because … you want to get it done before you leave office, but because it needs to be done, because these individuals have been held hostage now for way, way too long, and every single day is a day of uncertainty, is a day of grief,” Kirby added.
Kirby’s statements came one day after US president, Joe Biden, told reporters at the White House that “some real progress” is being made in reaching a deal for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Hamas.
However, Biden, who will be leaving office in ten days, insists on blaming Hamas for obstructing the negotiations to distance Netanyahu’s government from its responsibility for perpetuating Israel’s genocidal aggression on Gaza. “I’m still hopeful that we will be able to have a prisoner exchange. Hamas is the one getting in the way of that exchange right now, but I think we may be able to get that done, we need to get it done,” Biden said.
The New Arab published details of the deal
London-based news outlet The New Arab reported on its Arabic website on Saturday, that the final draft for Gaza’s ceasefire deal has been completed, quoting a senior Hamas official, without mentioning his name.
The Hamas official told The New Arab that everyone involved in the negotiations is now waiting for Netanyahu’s envoy to arrive in the Qatari capital Doha to deliver his approval on the latest amendments. Following that, a press conference will be held, during which the three mediators, the US, Qatar, and Egypt will announce the details of the agreement, its timetable, and its entry into force, according to the official.
The New Arab also said that it obtained some information about Gaza’s ceasefire deal proposal, which stipulates Israel’s complete withdrawal from Salah ad-Din Corridor (also known as Philadelphi) on the last day of the agreement’s phases. As per the proposal, the first phase suggests a partial withdrawal of the IOF, while the second entails the presence of some Israeli control points. Meanwhile, the last day of the third phase would mark a complete withdrawal of the IOF.
A Palestinian source, who is well informed about the negotiations, told the The New Arab that the circumstances surrounding the efforts for achieving a ceasefire in Gaza are different than than the previous times, pointing out that the technical committees representing all parties and the mediators have finalized the agreement, which should take effect after 24 hours of Netanhayu’s approval.
The main terms of the agreement are also said to include the return of displaced people, IOF’s withdrawal from Netzarim corridor to the east of Salah ad-Din road, and from Salah ad-Din corridor to the east of Rafah border crossing during the first phase.
Furthermore, mediators will have to guarantee an unlimited flow of humanitarian, medical and relief aid to the Gaza strip. Reconstruction process in the besieged enclave should also commence once the implementation of the agreement begins.
Israeli offensive in northern Gaza has jeopardized the lives of the captives
The advances in the talks take place as Hamas and Islamic Jihad sound the alarm about the fate of Israeli captives in northern Gaza after Israel escalated its aggression.
A senior official from Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), told Al Jazeera on Friday, January 10, that most Israeli captives held by the brigades in the northern Gaza strip are now considered missing due to Israel’s ongoing aggression.
The Al-Qassam official underscored that the brigades had repeatedly warned about the consequences of Israel’s actions in the besieged enclave. He further held Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) fully accountable for the lives of their captives, and accused them of avoiding accountability about the lives of their soldiers.
Meanwhile, Saraya al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, released a video on Friday, addressing the families of Israeli captives held in Gaza. The video, which was titled “Your leadership is deliberately and determinedly killing your sons” blamed Natanyahu for the deaths of Israeli captives held by Saraya al-Quds.
Highlighting Netanyahu’s failure to keep his promises to the families of the captives, the video showed previous statements by the Israeli Prime Minister, in which he reiterated his commitment to securing the safe return of Israeli captives to their families, calling it “one of his highest priorities”.
The video also showed the scale of Israeli aerial attacks striking Gaza, featuring voices of Israeli captives, who appeared to be injured or killed during the airstrikes, while their captors were attempting to rescue or recover them.
Pressure by Israeli captive’s families on Netanyahu’s government
The pressure exerted on the Israeli government by families of Israeli captives held in Gaza have mounted during the last few days, after media reports claimed that Hamas had approved a list of 34 captives to be released as part of a possible temporary ceasefire and captives-for-prisoners’ swap deal.
A forum representing the vast majority of the remaining 100 Israeli captives in Gaza called on Netanyahu’s government on Monday, January 6, to pursue a comprehensive deal through which all the captives would be released. The forum slammed their government’s current approach, which seeks to release only one-third of the captives during a temporary ceasefire period.