Israeli Hama’s ceasefire talks are slow but continuous: NPR

Tel Aviv, Israel and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates — Arab intermediaries are working to secure a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas after weeks of coordinated US involvement, including a secret in-person meeting with the group.

Efforts to secure a ceasefire are stuck in the same stumbling block that has been in the way for much of the war. It is a way to secure an agreement held in Gaza to end the war forever and release hostages.

Mediators are competing against the clock as Israel slowly expands its airstrikes in Gaza. Aid supply, drinking water and access to fuel also declined on the territory following a two-week long lockdown by Israel, except for the invasion of all goods, medical supplies and food.

Emphasizing the broader regional aspects of the conflict, the US attacked Hooty’s targets in Yemen last week in response to an Iran-backed group’s attack on transport in the Red Sea in support of Gaza. According to the Houthi-Run Health Ministry, the airstrikes killed at least 53 people, most of them women and children.

Furthermore, the new Israeli political fire could further disrupt ceasefire talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late Sunday that he would attempt to fire the domestic security officer who led ceasefire negotiations for most of the war.

Israel says it wants an immediate release of 11 living hostages out of half of the 35 hostage bodies held in Gaza out of 24 people believed to be alive by Hamas in Gaza. Instead, mediators say Israel will open border intersections to allow aid to Gaza again, extending the ceasefire for another 50 days.

The basis for the proposal was created by Steve Witkov, a Middle Eastern envoy of President Trump, who was in Qatar last week. However, the United States has not released a solid timeline to reach the end of the war. This is an important request from Hamas.

The US also states that Hamas must immediately release Edan Alexander, a US-Israeli citizen who served in the Israeli army at the time of its capture in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

Hamas’ high-class Bassem Naim said in a statement that the group will release the living Alexander. Another Hamas official told NPR that these bodies belong to a double U.S. Israeli national.

Naim says Hamas will do it on a conditional basis, subject to a permanent ceasefire and immediate consultation on the withdrawal of troops from Gaza’s border with Egypt – two conditions Israel has rejected so far.

Hamas also said that if Israel withdraws from Gaza in agreement to a permanent armistice, it would be willing to release all hostages at the same time, not batches, but Israel’s far-right government refused.

The Israeli government said a team of Israeli negotiators met with Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the hostages issue.

Egyptian officials with knowledge of Egyptian consultations told NPR that they had come to Cairo to discuss a proposal to free half of the living hostages, and would not be willing to end the war at this stage or discuss other proposals, including a timeline for Gaza to withdraw from the border with Egypt. An Egyptian official spoke on condition of anonymity.

How the first ceasefire contract collapsed

The first ceasefire contract came into effect the day before Trump took office in January. The first phase of the contract saw the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, partial withdrawal of Israeli forces and a surge in humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

The transaction was stipulated that Phase 1 of the contract would end by March 1, six weeks after the contract, with Israel and Hamas entering Phase 2.

This second stage was to start with an agreement that in exchange for Israel’s release of famous Palestinian prisoners, all living Israeli hostages held by Hamas would be released, ending the war forever. It also included the remaining withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza over six weeks.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to take part in the second phase negotiations. His right-wing coalition wants to continue the war as long as Hamas controls it.

He instead demanded the release of half of the live and dead hostages before discussing towards the final end of the war. Hamas accused Israel of obstructing the initial contract.

To put Hamas on these new conditions, the Netanyahu government has blocked all aid entry into Gaza since March 2. Humanitarian organisations, Israeli rights groups, and countries in Europe and the Middle East say this is violating international law and collective punishment.

Meanwhile, Israel gradually increased its military strikes in Gaza. Israel launched airstrikes on Saturday, killing at least nine people, according to Gaza civil defense groups. Israel said they are extremists or pretend to be journalists who run drones aimed at carrying out attacks on the military.

The London-based aid group said the eight deaths were staff members who were charity-based. According to the Al Khair Foundation in London, drones were used to assess where displaced people were to be constructed and document the works of charities.

What the US and Israel propose

US Middle Eastern envoy Steve Witkoff and senior director of the National Security Council, Eric Trager, were in Qatar last week trying to save the ceasefire.

Witkov said on Sunday that in exchange for the “substantial” release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons, Hamas proposed to release five living hostages, including U.S. Israeli double citizen Edan Alexander.

The US proposed extending the ceasefire beyond Ramadan and Passover until late April — including negotiations for a “critical humanitarian assistance” to Gaza and a permanent ceasefire, the White House said in a statement.

The US is requesting that the proposal be implemented starting with an immediate release of Alexander, but did not publish any specific dates.

In an interview with CNN, Witkov mentioned Saturday’s bombing of targets in Houthi in Yemen, saying, “We encourage Hamas to be far more wise than how they turned out.”

Egyptian officials say the mediator is currently trying to bridge the gap between what the Israeli government requested and what Hamas hopes to provide in the absence of US or Israel’s guarantees for an end to the war at this stage.

Daniel Estlin reported from Tel Aviv. Aya Batrawy reported from Dubai. Abu Bakr Bashir contributed a report from London.