In a report published by the Associated Press, it would seem that another cease-fire and hostage-release deal is on the horizon according to officials as discussions continue in Egypt.
An Israeli Merkava tank maneuvers at an Army outpost near the Kisufim crossing between Israel and the Gaza strip on June 19, 2008, a few hours after a truce between Hamas and Israel came into force. fragile truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas came into force in the Gaza Strip today amid scepticism.
Israel has recused two captives in a raid that also resulted in 74 deaths. The identified captives are Fernando Marman age 60 and Louis Har age 70. The raid was conducted near the Egyptian border in the Southern City of Rafah. According to some accounts, the raid gave a small taste of what a full ground assault would entail.
The conflict between Israel and Hamas is now in its fifth month since Israel began conducting operations within the Gaza Strip back in October. A cease-fire would provide some temporary relief for those who have been caught in the cross-fire in addition to freeing the estimated 100 people still being held captive in Gaza. Qatar, the United States, and Egypt have been seeking a deal that satisfies both parties for some time.
Israel has gone on record multiple times to state that its goal is to dismantle Hamas's governing capabilities, and military capabilities, and to secure hostages. However, the conflict has caused mass destruction along the territory with a rising death toll which 70% consists of women and minors according to local health officials along with 80% of the population being displaced.
South Africa had previously accused Israel of genocide at the International Court Of Justice and has recently reported that they have filed an "urgent request" with the court to contemplate whether Israel's operation in Rafah constitutes a breach of provisional orders passed down from the court that calls on Israel to take more measures to prevent fewer civilian casualties. Israel has denied the allegations and has stated that their operations are in line with international law and have shifted the blame of the death toll on Hamas due to militants operating within residential areas.
However, despite the efforts to secure hostages Marman and Har are the only two hostages secured by the military since October according to the report. Last year in a temporary truce over 100 hostages were freed in exchange for 240 Palestinians that were captured. It's also reported that some officials believe that only a deal can result in the release of hostages in large numbers.
The Potential Deals
Ahead of the meeting set to take place in Cario on Tuesday an Egyptian official has said that meditators have achieved what was described as "Relatively significant" progress in the negotiations. The meeting will discuss building a six-week cease-fire deal with the guarantees that both parties would continue negotiations toward a permanent cease-fire. A Western diplomat stated that a six-week deal was on the table, but more work would still be necessary for an agreement to be reached. Both officials spoke to the press on the condition that they remain anonymous due to them not being authorized to discuss sensitive talks with the media.
Both parties have also laid out their conditions. Israel has proposed a two-month cease-fire where hostages would be freed and in exchange for imprisoned Palestinians in addition to top Hamas leaders be allowed to relocate to other countries. Hamas has rejected that deal and instead proposed a three-step plan of 45 days each in which hostages would be released in stages. Israel would release hundreds of Palestinians including senior militants, and the conflict would wind down with Israel withdrawing its forces. However, Israel is looking to defeat Hamas before the end of the conflict. President Biden seems to be confident that an agreement is within reach stating that the United States would do "everything possible" to make an agreement happen.
However, the death toll continues to rise with the report stating that The Health Ministry in Gaza has stated that the death toll stands at 28,473 in addition to 68,000 being wounded. Among those injured were two reporters from the outlet Al-Jazeera due to an Israeli airstrike which resulted in one of the two journalists receiving an amputation. The Israeli military has reported that 232 of its soldiers have been killed since operations began in October.
