Hamas blinks; An end in sight to the war in Gaza?

Tel Aviv/Doha: Is there an end in sight to the war in Gaza after Hamas belatedly responded to a proposal that, in the words of Antony J. Blinken, “was put on the table for a way forward”? 

However, amid reports of divisions within Hamas, the question being raised is whether the response was from a unified consensus. In Doha, Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani responded by saying Qatar’s dealing with Hamas “in its entirety for all over the last years has been with the political office, and this channel that we are using has been always just giving us their responses that represent both, and that’s what we have seen in the first pause.   And hopefully also with the current responses that we are having that will lead to the second, hopefully, pause and exchange of hostages.  I think that’s the only channel that we have, and that has always been effective for us.  So we don’t see or we don’t – we are not in a position to examine their unity and their division.  What’s leading us really are the results of any agreement that we would have”.

Blinken, the United States Secretary of State, who was today in Tel Aviv, where he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, said both the US as well as Israel were “looking at it intensely”. 

It was last night in Doha that Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani informed media persons in the presence of Blinken that his government had received a reply from Hamas about the general framework of the agreement concerning hostages. Blinken then said, “There’s still a lot of work to be done, but we continue to believe that an agreement is possible and, indeed, essential.  And we will continue to work relentlessly to achieve it”.

According to the Qatari Prime Minister, the reply “includes some comments”, but in general it was “positive”.  He said that given the sensitivity of the circumstances, “we will not tackle details.  We are optimistic and we have delivered the response to the Israeli party”.

Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad stated that Hamas’s reply had been conveyed by the Qatari mediator to Mossad. “Its details are being thoroughly evaluated by the officials involved in the negotiations,” it stated.

Today before a meeting with President Herzog in Tel Aviv, Blinken told media persons, “There is a lot of work to be done, but we are very much focused on doing that work and hopefully being able to resume the release of hostages that was interrupted so many months ago”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also met today with Blinken at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem and first held a “lengthy, in-depth private meeting”, and then proceeded to hold an “expanded meeting”. Blinken discussed Hamas’ response with the Government of Israel.

Blinken  and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed the latest efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages and the importance of increasing the amount of humanitarian assistance reaching displaced civilians throughout Gaza. Blinken discussed the United States’ vision for durable peace and security in the region and reiterated the United States support for the establishment of a Palestinian state as the best way to ensure lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike and greater integration for the region. He also stressed the urgent need to de-escalate tensions in the West Bank and prevent the conflict from expanding.

It is worth mentioning that until now, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has consistently refused to commit to a permanent ceasefire.

There was no immediate response yet from the Israeli government on Hamas’s response. Israel’s President Herzog in a joint press availability with Blinken, avoided any direct reference to Hamas’s response but told Blinken that the latter’s visit came “at a very critical moment in the conflict” when Israel was “yearning and praying” for the immediate release of the hostages by Hamas.  “We want to see them back as soon as possible.  The situation is dire, and clearly Hamas is violating every rule of human behaviour in this respect,” he said. 

The Hamas reply came a week after the said proposal was delivered to its political wing, and Qatari Prime Minister Al Thani said it took this long because “there are a number of challenges that we are facing throughout the negotiations”.  He elaborated: “It’s not something new, and what’s happening on the ground in Gaza, it affects the course of the negotiations all the time, and this is something that we’ve been highlighting on many occasions.  Communication was representing some challenges, but also the negotiation itself – it took some time in order to get them to a place where we get that response”.

Incidentally, since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on January 26, 2024, which called on Israel to avoid civilian casualties, reports suggest that already 900 Palestinians have been killed, including women and children.   

Israeli President Herzog, however, said, “I also believe that as such, whilst we are not hearing or getting any information about our hostages, we are accommodating and facilitating humanitarian aid as part of our belief and our commitment to the rules of international humanitarian law.  Israel is committed to international humanitarian law.”