Hamas agrees to US-backed ceasefire and hostage release plan

Hamas on Saturday agreed to a proposed U.S.-backed deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire with Israel after dropping its most intransigent demand: that the Jewish state pledge a complete end to the nine-month war in the Gaza Strip, a Hamas and Egyptian official said.

But the agreement came with a major hurdle: The Iran-backed terrorist group now demands “written guarantees” that mediators will continue negotiations on a permanent ceasefire once the first phase of the plan comes into force, the Hamas representative said.

Hamas initially agreed to the proposal after receiving “verbal assurances and guarantees” from Egyptian and Qatari mediators that fighting would not resume after Israel took over the hostages and that both sides would continue to negotiate a permanent ceasefire, the Hamas official said.

“Now we want these guarantees on paper,” said the Hamas representative.

Israeli Mossad intelligence director David Barnea was shipped to Doha on Friday, where he met with Qatari mediators and rejected demands for a written commitment to a second phase of the ceasefire agreement, Axios reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to send his country’s negotiators to Doha for further talks next week, but his office stressed that there remains a “rift between the parties.” CIA Director William Burns is also returning to Doha to take part in the talks, Axios reported.

The proposal now on the table would see Hamas release women, children and injured hostages in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners over an initial six-week period. Israeli forces would also withdraw from densely populated areas in Gaza during that time and allow people to return to their homes in the north of the territory.

In phase two, Hamas would release all remaining men – civilians and soldiers – in exchange for Israel releasing a number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees. However, the exchange would only take place after a “sustainable calm” has been established and all Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza.

In phase three, the remains of hostages who died in captivity will be returned to Israel.

The plan received support from the families of many of the hostages during their weekly marches in cities across Israel on Saturday.

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held hostage, told The Times of Israel that she felt hopeful that she would be able to hug her son again for the first time in months.

She stressed that the opportunity for an agreement should not be missed and had a message for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “We have seen how you have repeatedly torpedoed agreements at the moment of truth. Don’t you dare break our hearts again,” she said.

“Pushing forward the agreement is a moral step, the most urgent and important at the moment, and we must do everything in our power to prevent this crucial opportunity from being thwarted,” said pro-democracy protest group Hofshi B’Artzenu, one of the organizers of the weekly marches, according to the Times of Israel.

Israeli officials told Axios they were concerned that if the terrorist group complied with Hamas’s written commitments, it could delay talks on the second phase of the agreement indefinitely.

It would then be difficult for Israel to resume fighting without being seen as a violation of the agreement and could lead to the UN Security Council imposing a ceasefire without ensuring the release of all hostages, the officials said.

Nevertheless, Israeli sources have expressed optimism in recent days about a possible ceasefire in the bloody war sparked by Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 people lost their lives and another 250 were kidnapped.

Mossad officials told mediators in Doha that they were confident the Israeli cabinet would accept the current ceasefire proposal, an official familiar with the talks told the Wall Street Journal.

The Israeli negotiating team said there was a legitimate chance of reaching an agreement with Hamas. In previous talks, however, Hamas had made demands that Israel considered impossible.

With post wires.