Israel “evaluates” Hamas’ new “ideas” to end Gaza war

Hamas called for “a permanent ceasefire and a complete withdrawal” of Israeli troops from Gaza.

Israel says hostilities cannot cease until Hamas releases all hostages captured during the October 7 attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also repeatedly said Israel’s Gaza campaign will not end until Hamas’ military and government capabilities are destroyed.

Qatar is working closely with the United States and leading mediation efforts.

“We have exchanged some ideas with the mediator brothers with the aim of stopping the aggression against our Palestinian people,” Hamas said in a statement.

Netanyahu’s office and the Mossad intelligence agency confirmed the new approach almost immediately.

“The hostage agreement mediators have conveyed to the negotiating team Hamas’s comments on the main points of the hostage agreement. Israel is evaluating the comments and will convey its response to the mediators,” an Israeli statement said.

According to a source familiar with the talks, “the Qataris, in coordination with the United States, have been working with Hamas and Israel in recent weeks to bridge the remaining gaps.”

Biden said the plan, which he proposed on May 31, came from Israel and includes a six-week ceasefire, a hostage-prisoner exchange and the reconstruction of Gaza.

It would be the first ceasefire since a week-long pause in fighting in November, during which more than 100 hostages were released and Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons.

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Chinese-Israeli woman among four hostages rescued from Gaza

Chinese-Israeli woman among four hostages rescued from Gaza

The war began with the attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which 1,195 people, mostly civilians, were killed, according to an Agence France-Presse count based on Israeli figures.

Hamas fighters also took 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in the Gaza Strip. According to the army, 42 of them are dead.

According to the Health Ministry of the Hamas-controlled area, at least 37,953 people were killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, again mostly civilians.

In addition to international criticism, Netanyahu faces intense domestic pressure to secure the release of the remaining hostages and must also prepare for a possible conflict with Hezbollah on the Lebanon front. But he has said military action is the best way to put pressure on Hamas.

The New York Times quoted Israeli security officials this week as saying that senior generals saw a ceasefire as the best way to secure the release of the remaining hostages, even if not all of Israel’s war aims were achieved.

Netanyahu rejected the report and vowed that Israel would not give in to the “wind of defeatism.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed peace efforts with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Washington last week.

Despite signs of tension between the Israeli prime minister and the US president, Netanyahu will address both houses of the US Congress at a session scheduled for July 24.