Last night’s fighting and the advance of the Israeli army come after Hamas last night approved a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar. According to Hamas itself, this would involve a ceasefire in different phases of approximately 6 weeks. During each phase, Hamas would release a number of hostages in exchange for first a partial and then a full withdrawal of the Israeli army. Ultimately, the blockade of the Gaza Strip should also be completely lifted.
Several Arab and other leaders have responded positively to Hamas’s approval, but Israel says the proposal deviates too far from its original demands. Israel does say it wants to continue negotiations.
Today a Hamas delegation will return to Cairo, Egypt. An Israeli delegation has also arrived in Cairo, Prime Minister Netanyahu said this evening. In recent days, Israel has been negotiating remotely. Since the delegation does not include Israel’s top negotiators, the team will discuss the proposal, but not negotiate.
Tags: Israeli army takes Rafah border crossing Israeli delegation arrived Cairo ceasefire talks
