To the Gaza Strip good news comes from Doha. Following the intensification of talks, Qatar has handed over Israel y Hamas the “final” draft for a deal cease-fire waiting for your response. “The next 24 hours will be crucial to reaching the agreement,” an official informed about the negotiations told Reuters. Meanwhile, the attacks on the besieged Palestinian enclave do not stop with at least 19 muertos and 71 injured people arrived at hospitals throughout the territory during the last 24 hours, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
According to the official cited by ‘Reuters’, the text has been prepared after the dialogue held in the Qatari capital. The heads of Israeli spy agencies participated in it. Mashed y Shin Betthe prime minister of Qatary Steve Witkoffwho will become the American envoy when Donald Trump take office within a few days. Officials from the outgoing US administration are also believed to have intervened. A senior Israeli official has predicted that a deal could be sealed within days if Hamas responds to a proposal.
For his part, a Palestinian official close to the talks told the British agency that the information from Doha was “very promising”. “Distances are being shortened and there is great momentum towards an agreement if everything goes well until the end,” he added. These advances come hours after the American president, Joe Bidenwill call the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahuon Sunday and expressed the “immediate need” to reach a ceasefire and an agreement for the release of hostages in Gaza. Biden has increased the pressure with the intention of reaching an agreement to stop the fighting before Trump returns to the White House on January 20.
Text proposed by Biden
“We are very very closebut being very close means that we are far away because until we cross the finish line, we will not get there,” said Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivanto the North American network CNN. Just like Qatar y Egypt, USA has assumed the role of mediator between the opposing parties since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. After that massacre that killed 1,139 Israelis, the Jewish State launched an unprecedented military offensive against the Palestinian enclave in which has murdered 46.584 personas. Only during November 2023 did a six-day ceasefire take place, allowing a pause in the fighting and the release of more than a hundred hostages.
The White House has stated that the ongoing talks in Doha are aimed at an agreement based on the gradual ceasefire that Biden had announced in May of last year. This text was then unanimously endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. United Nations. For his part, Netanyahu has previously said he is committed only to the first phase of the pact, which provides for the release of some captives in exchange for a cessation of fighting for weeks. Its current far-right government advocates continuing the war and maintaining its presence in Gaza.
Opposition from Netanyahu’s associates
While, Hamas has avoided signing any agreement that does not imply a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian land while demanding a permanent ceasefire. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saarhas confirmed that there has been progress in the ceasefire negotiations. “There is progress, it looks much better than before, but I don’t want to say more than that,” he said at a conference in Jerusalem this Monday. Instead, Bezalel Smotrich, far-right leader in charge of the Finance portfolio, has once again criticized any possibility of a truce with Hamas, describing the agreement as “surrender”. “It is a catastrophe for the national security of the State of Israel,” he denounced in a statement.
Due to criticism from his government partners, Netanyahu summoned Smotrich and the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvirthis Sunday for a meeting on the possible agreement. The prime minister fears that they will abandon his coalition, causing his collapsebut political sources cited by Haaretz They consider that Netanyahu believes that both will not rush to overthrow the government due to estimates that the Trump administration will sympathize with the settlers and the opportunity to once again raise with Washington the issue of annexation of the occupied West Bank settlements.
More urgent than ever
“Our prisoners “They are close to freedom,” Hamas said in an official statement, addressing reports of progress in the negotiations. With the release of the Israeli hostages, dozens of Palestinian prisoners would be released as part of the exchange pact. It remains to be seen what type of inmates will be released. For this reason, the head of the Palestinian Commission for Detainees, Qadura Fareshe said in a radio interview Al Shams who plans to leave for Qatar this Monday. There he will try to identify which Palestinian prisoners will be released as part of the agreement. According to him, among them are sick, elderly, women and children.
For the Palestinians of Gaza, the arrival of a ceasefire is more urgent than ever. Trump promised to would unleash “hell” in the region unless hostages held by Hamas are released before he takes office. Despite the progress in the negotiations, the assaults on the Palestinian enclave they do not stop. This Monday the Israeli forces attacked the school Salah al Din in Gaza City where forcibly displaced people were taking refuge. At least five Palestinians have died as a result. According to medical sources, a total of 26 Palestinians have lost their lives in Gaza since this morning.
