JERUSALEM: A senior Israeli official on Tuesday (Aug 19) said the government stood firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any future Gaza deal, after Hamas accepted a new truce proposal.
Mediators are awaiting an official Israeli response to the plan, a day after Hamas signalled its readiness for a fresh round of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war.
Mediator Qatar expressed guarded optimism for the new proposal, noting that it was “almost identical” to an earlier version agreed to by Israel.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior Israeli official told AFP the government’s stance had not changed and demanded the release of all hostages in any deal.
The two foes have held on-and-off indirect negotiations throughout the war, resulting in two short truces during which Israeli hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but they have ultimately failed to broker a lasting ceasefire.
Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have mediated the frequent rounds of shuttle diplomacy.
Egypt said Monday that it and Qatar had sent the new proposal to Israel, adding “the ball is now in its court”.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said on Tuesday that Hamas had given a “very positive response, and it truly was almost identical to what the Israeli side had previously agreed to”.
“We cannot make any claims that a breakthrough has been made. But we do believe it is a positive point,” he added.
MOUNTING PRESSURE
According to a report in Egyptian state-linked outlet Al-Qahera News, the latest deal proposes an initial 60-day truce, a partial hostage release, the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners and provisions allowing for the entry of aid.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly comment on the plan, but said last week that his country would accept “an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war”.
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said on social media that his group had “opened the door wide to the possibility of reaching an agreement, but the question remains whether Netanyahu will once again close it, as he has done in the past”.
Hamas’s acceptance of the proposal comes as Netanyahu faces increasing pressure at home and abroad to end the war.
