Israel has said that it will deliver its response to international mediators by Friday, August 22, 2025, over a new Gaza ceasefire plan accepted by Hamas amid mounting pressure for a truce in a war that has claimed more than 62,000 Palestinian lives.
Under reported details of the proposed plan, about half of the remaining living hostages, as well as bodies, would be released in a phased deal in exchange for about 150 Palestinians held in Israeli jails, some serving life sentences, during an envisaged 60-day ceasefire.
While Israel has said it is no longer interested in a partial deal, instead threatening an imminent new large-scale offensive to capture Gaza City, the details of the new ceasefire proposal bring it very close to the outline of a deal initially suggested by Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff.
With Hamas’s agreement, the focus is now on Israel, which is under mounting international pressure to accept a ceasefire amid international horror over widespread conditions of starvation that have spread through the Palestinian territory after Israel earlier this year imposed a complete blockade on aid entering Gaza.
While Israel is now letting some supplies into the Gaza Strip, it is not enough to avert widespread starvation, the UN human rights office said.
Its Spokesperson Thameen al-Kheetan told a press briefing in Geneva that in the past few weeks, Israeli authorities have only allowed aid to enter in quantities that remain far below what would be required to avert widespread starvation.
He said that the risk of starvation in Gaza was a “direct result of the Israeli government’s policy of blocking humanitarian aid.”
Israel’s military agency that coordinates aid, COGAT, has said that Israel invests “considerable efforts” in aid distribution to Gaza, a claim rejected by many in the international community.
While any prospect of a ceasefire is rejected by Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right allies who have again suggested they could collapse his fragile governing coalition, the scale of mass protests in favour of a deal that would secure the return of Israeli hostages is creating its own dynamic, with more demonstrations being called for this weekend.
Israel To Be Compelled To Choose A Course Of Action
Meanwhile, Israeli media Analysts suggested that Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, whose position has lurched abruptly between supporting a partial deal for a ceasefire and rejecting it, would be compelled to choose a course of action, not least if the White House backs the ceasefire terms.
Amos Harel wrote in Haaretz of Netanyahu, “Just two weeks ago, he changed his tune and went from insisting on a partial deal to vehemently demanding a comprehensive deal.”
“As usual, everything is fluid and flexible: Netanyahu will change his arguments and explanations, and may even covertly encourage internal opposition, as long as he can afford to avoid signing a deal.
“If circumstances become impossible for him, due either to a demand from Trump or persistent and severe public outcry, the deal will be signed despite the risks it poses for him.”
Amos Harel
Writing in the centre-right Yedioth Ahronoth, Ben-Dror Yemini was equally scathing about Netanyahu’s leadership and the consequences of rejection of the new proposal. “What now? If Israel says no, it will walk into the trap that Hamas prepared,” he noted.
“Because if the talk – and it’s only talk – about conquering Gaza City has already begun to produce increasing calls for sanctions [against Israel], then a military incursion into Gaza will only precipitate an even stronger avalanche.
“We have to bear in mind that things can always get worse. And if an Israeli incursion into Gaza City, along with all of the horrific images of destruction, devastation and fatalities, is going to precipitate this avalanche, then going into Gaza City after Hamas said yes to the Witkoff plan – and after Israel refused – will only worsen the avalanche.”
Ben-Dror Yemini
He added that once again, Hamas’ strategy will be proven “as far more intelligent than Israel’s.”
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