Hamas announced on Monday, May 6, 2024, that it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari proposal for a cease-fire to halt the seven-month-long war with Israel in Gaza.
Hamas said in a statement that its top leader, Ismail Haniyeh, had delivered the news in a phone call with Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt’s Intelligence Minister, Abbas Kamel.
After the release of the statement, Palestinians erupted in cheers in the sprawling tent camps around Rafah, hoping the deal meant an Israeli attack had been averted.
According to sources, the Egyptian-Qatari proposal that Hamas has agreed to would include three phases, with each lasting 42 days.
A truce would begin in the first phase, along with an Israeli withdrawal from the Netzarim corridor that Israel uses to divide northern and southern Gaza.
A second phase would include the approval of a permanent cessation of military and hostile operations, and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
The proposal also includes a provision approving an end to the blockade of Gaza in the third phase.
U.S State Department Spokesperson, Matthew Miller said that Washington will “withhold judgement” on Hamas’s response to the ceasefire deal until it has time to fully review it.
“I can confirm that Hamas has issued a response. We are reviewing that response now and discussing it with our partners in the region,” he said.
Miller declined to say whether Hamas agreed to a US-approved offer or to a different version of the proposal.
“As you know, [CIA] Director Burns is in the region working on this in real time. We will be discussing this response with our partners over the coming hours,” he continued.
Erdogan Urges Israel To Accept Ceasefire
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the announcement by Hamas that it has accepted a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan called on Western countries to increase pressure on Israel’s leadership to accept the deal.
“We welcome the statement by Hamas that they accepted the ceasefire with our suggestion. Now, Israel must take the same step,” he said.
However, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, responded to Hamas’s agreement to a truce proposal, saying that the group is playing “games” that have only “one answer, an immediate order to occupy Rafah!”
“Increasing military pressure, and continuing the complete defeat of Hamas, until its complete defeat,” he added in a social media post.
Ben-Gvir has been among the members of the Israeli government urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue fighting in Gaza until Hamas is defeated.
Meanwhile, former Israeli diplomat, Alon Liel made comments about the situation Israel’s government and Netanyahu are finding themselves in after Hamas’s announcement.
“There is strong pressure from inside Israel on the government to go to Rafah, so I think the Israeli government faces a dilemma to go with the world or to go with the Israelis, to keep the government or to keep our international contacts,” he said.
“It’s a huge decision for Israel, really huge,” Liel added, noting that even if there is a deal, many people in Israel “will be frightened that we lost the war or that Hamas stays in Gaza.”
“If he [Netanyahu] accepts a deal, it might be the end of his political career. But then if he doesn’t accept a deal, we will have a series of international decisions against us in international courts, in the UN, by different governments, sanctions, recognition of Palestine.”
Alon Liel
“So I see it as a historic decision for Netanyahu,” he added.
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