Muhammad Amin
Hamas has agreed to the current Gaza ceasefire proposal with sources in the organisation reportedly telling ABC News Tuesday the deal will be announced “either today or tomorrow”.
The agreement was held up at the brink after Hamas demanded Israel provide it with maps of Gaza showing how it will pull its genocidal horde out of the enclave under the three-stage deal.
It’s still not a done deal, even though the Americans claimed overnight they were waiting only for Hamas’s consent – Israel’s loony far-right has threatened to block the deal.
“I believe we will get a ceasefire,” US secretary of state Antony Blinken said. “It’s right on the brink. It’s closer than it’s ever been before.”
If implemented and if peace endures, the truce would see the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza and the Israeli military’s complete withdrawal from the besieged region.
Meanwhile, far-right Israeli minister Ben Gvir has revealed how he had repeatedly blocked ceasefire deals over the last year and urged finance minister Bezalel Smotrich to join him.
The first stage of the deal anticipates 33 hostages set free, including children, women – including some female soldiers – men above 50, and the wounded and sick, alongside about 1 000 Palestinian prisoners who will be released an Israeli official said.
So far, no announcement has been made, although US and Qatar mediators have said a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is closer than ever before, with Blinken saying a truce could be agreed “at any time”.
Negotiators met in Doha Tuesday to hammer out the final details which include the release of hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinians held in Israeli jails being freed.
“I believe we will get a ceasefire,” the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said during a speech, asserting it was up to Hamas.
Hamas said talks had reached the final stages, and that it hoped this round of negotiations would lead to a deal. An Israeli official said talks had reached a critical phase although some details needed to be hammered out: “We are close, we are not there yet.”
Islamic Jihad, which also holds hostages in Gaza, said a senior delegation would arrive in Doha on Tuesday night to take part in final arrangements.
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