The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, expressed this Sunday his “firm” rejection of Hamas’ demands in the next round of negotiations. Among these demands is the end of the war in Gaza, according to a statement.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar demands an end to the war, the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from the strip and keeping the group intact. The prime minister’s office said: “Netanyahu is firmly opposed to this.” The reports from the negotiating team assure that they “only harden the position” of the terrorist organization.
This Sunday, Izzat Al Risheq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, declared that they have not yet received any proposal from the mediators, despite “the rumors circulating about the negotiations,” reported the Efe news agency.
Al Risheq reiterated the demands: a complete and permanent cessation of aggression in the entire Gaza Strip, not just in Rafah, as a “base and starting point for anything.”
Israel to resume negotiations with Hamas
Israel confirmed on Saturday, after an agreement with the United States and Qatar, that it will resume truce negotiations with Hamas next week, on pause since May 10 and without major progress for months. The objective is to try to close an agreement to exchange hostages for Palestinian prisoners, while the Gaza Strip remains under Israeli attack.
The Israeli government emphasizes the priority of reaching an agreement for the return of those abducted in the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which some 1,200 people died. On the other hand, the Islamist organization maintains pressure to seek an end to the offensive in the strip.
Of the 253 kidnapped on October 7, 121 captives remain in the enclave, of which about 40 are dead according to Israel and more than 70 according to Hamas. In addition, there have been four other hostages for years, two of whom are dead.
Since the start of the war, Israel and Hamas only reached a one-week truce agreement in late November, which allowed the release of 105 hostages in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Additionally, the group freed four hostages in October; the Israeli Army rescued three, two of them in a successful operation in Rafah in February; and the bodies of 20 hostages were recovered, three of whom were mistakenly killed by Israeli troops in December.
The objective is to “dismantle” Hamas
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant highlighted the importance of the operation in Rafah to achieve the objectives of recovering the hostages and “dismantling Hamas.” This was made clear in a video recorded during his visit to the Israel Defense Forces this Sunday, Efe noted.
“Our objectives in Gaza are emphasized here in Rafah: destroy Hamas, return the hostages and maintain freedom of action,” he expressed to the military present in the devastated enclave in the south of the strip.
Gallant traveled to Rafah accompanied by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, General Amir Baram, and stressed the importance of operations in that area, despite the recent order of the International Court of Justice that demanded the “immediate” arrest of the Israeli offensive in this Palestinian territory.
In response to a viral video in which a soldier called for his resignation or the insubordination of soldiers in the event of facilitating a Palestinian government in Gaza after the offensive, Gallant was forceful. “In the IDF there is only one authority: it is the one held by the commander,” he said.
He also vindicated the figure of the Chief of the General Staff and stressed: “This is the law and this is how it works and this is how it will continue to work.” Regarding the hostages, he assured that “enormous efforts are being made” both “through kinetic activities and through agreements.”
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