Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene his security cabinet on Thursday evening to discuss Hamas’ new positions on a Gaza ceasefire deal, a source in Netanyahu’s office said, as fighting in the enclave rages on.
Before the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu will hold consultations with the ceasefire negotiating team, the source also said.
Israel received Hamas’ response on Wednesday to a proposal made public in late May by US President Joe Biden, which would have included the release of about 120 hostages held in Gaza and a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
A Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters that Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, has shown flexibility on some clauses that would allow for a framework agreement if Israel approves.
Two Hamas officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hamas has said any deal must end the nearly nine-month war and bring Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza. Israel maintains that it will only accept temporary pauses in the fighting until Hamas is eliminated.
The plan entails the gradual release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces in the first two phases, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners. The third phase involves the reconstruction of the war-torn territory and the return of the remains of the dead hostages.
The Palestinians are cautiously hopeful
In Gaza, the Palestinians reacted cautiously. “We hope this is the end of the war, we are exhausted and cannot bear any more failures and disappointments,” said Yusef, a father of two, now displaced in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave.
“Every hour in this war, more people are dying and more homes are being destroyed, so enough is enough. I am saying this to my leaders, to Israel and to the world,” he told Reuters via a chat app.
Tanks shelled several areas on the eastern side of Khan Yunis on Thursday after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders on Tuesday, but there was no tank movement in those areas, residents said.
On Thursday, many Palestinians were still seeking shelter after the evacuation order, which also included the border town of Rafah and which the United Nations said was the largest such order since 1.1 million people were told to leave the northern enclave in October.
Residents of Khan Younis said many families slept on the street because they could not find tents.
Israeli planes and tanks bombed several areas in the Shejaia, Sabra, Daraj and Tuffah areas of northern Gaza, killing several Palestinians, including children, and injuring others, health officials said.
The Israeli military said its troops and aircraft killed dozens of militants in those areas and in Rafah, southern Gaza, which Israel has described as Hamas’ last stronghold.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas gunmen invaded southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages back in Gaza, according to Israeli estimates.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 38,000 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and left the heavily built-up coastal enclave in ruins.
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