TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Negotiators are making progress on an agreement for a week-long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of dozens of hostages held in Gaza as well as Palestinians detained by Israel, Israeli media reported Sunday.
Israel's War Cabinet met late Saturday to discuss the proposal, but there was no official word on what they had decided. Several Israeli media outlets, citing unnamed officials, said they had tacitly agreed to the deal and that Israel would send a delegation to Qatar for further talks.
Hamas says it has not yet taken part in the latest proposal from the United States, Egypt and Qatar, but the draft submitted is largely in line with its previous calls for the first phase of a ceasefire. Hamas' top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was in Cairo last week.
Israel is developing plans to expand its offensive into the southernmost city of Rafah on the Gaza-Egypt border, where more than half of the territory's 2.3 million residents have sought refuge in squalid tent camps, overcrowded housing and overcrowded shelters. Aid groups have warned of catastrophe and the United States and other Israel allies have said it must avoid harming civilians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would convene the Cabinet this week to “approve operational plans for Rafah,” including the evacuation of civilians.
Heavy fighting is still taking place in parts of the northern Gaza Strip, the first target of the offensive, where the level of destruction is staggering. Residents have reported days of heavy fighting in Gaza City's Zaytoun district, which continued until Sunday morning.
“We are trapped and cannot move because of the heavy bombardment,” said Ayman Abu Awad, a resident of the area.
He said starving residents were forced to eat animal feed and search for food in destroyed buildings. Northern Gaza has been largely cut off from aid supplies since the war began, and the United Nations World Food Program suspended deliveries last week.
Towards a limited ceasefire and the release of hostages
A senior official from Egypt, which along with Qatar acts as an intermediary between Israel and the militant Hamas group, said on Saturday that a draft ceasefire agreement called for the release of up to 40 women and elderly hostages in return for up to 300 Palestinian prisoners. predominantly women, minors and older people.
The Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations, said the proposed six-week pause in fighting would include allowing hundreds of trucks daily to bring urgently needed aid to Gaza, including to the northern half of the besieged territory. He said both sides agreed to continue negotiations during the break on further releases and a permanent ceasefire.
The Prime Minister's Office did not respond to a request for comment on the War Cabinet discussions or Israeli media reports.
Negotiators face an unofficial deadline of starting the Muslim holy month of Ramadan around March 10, a time when there are often heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
Hamas has said it will not release all remaining hostages until Israel ends its offensive and withdraws its forces from the area, and is also demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including senior militants – conditions that Netanyahu has vehemently rejected.
However, an earlier Hamas proposal outlined a first phase similar to the reported draft agreement, suggesting the two sides may be able to agree on a temporary ceasefire.
An agonizing wait for families of hostages
Israel declared war after the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostages. More than 100 hostages were released in November as part of a ceasefire and exchange agreement. About 130 remain in captivity, with a quarter of them presumed dead.
The families of the hostages watched the beginning of the negotiations with hope and concern.
“It feels like Schindler’s List. Will he be on the list or not?” Shelly Shem Tov, the mother of 21-year-old Omer, who is being held captive, told Israeli Army Radio about her son's chances of being released under an upcoming deal.
Israel responded to the Oct. 7 attack with a massive air and ground offensive that forced around 80% of Gaza's population from their homes, putting hundreds of thousands at risk of starvation and the spread of infectious diseases. According to the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, 29,692 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, two-thirds of them women and children.
When it comes to the death toll, the ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel says its troops have killed more than 10,000 militants without providing evidence.
DOCTORS IN RAFAH STRUGGLE TO TREAT NEWBORN BABIES
The war has devastated the territory's health sector. Less than half of the hospitals are partially functional as dozens of people are killed every day by Israeli bombings.
At the Emirates Hospital in Rafah, three to four newborns are housed in each of 20 incubators designed for just one. Dr. Amal Ismail said two to three newborns die in a single shift, partly because many of their families live in tents in rainy, cold weather.
“No matter how much we work with them, it’s all wasted,” she said. “There is no improvement in health due to the living conditions in the tent.”
Netanyahu has vowed to fight until “total victory” but is under intense pressure at home to reach a deal with Hamas to release the hostages. Police used water cannons to attack anti-government demonstrators in Tel Aviv late on Saturday, arresting 18 people. Others protested in Jerusalem.
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Shurafa reported from Rafah in the Gaza Strip and Magdy from Cairo.
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