In conjunction with Israeli airstrikes on Rafah and central Gaza in the early hours of Tuesday, new information has emerged regarding ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas aimed at establishing a ceasefire in the besieged and largely destroyed territory. Israeli officials and a knowledgeable source revealed that Israel and Hamas have begun negotiating the details of a potential temporary ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the release of prisoners for the first time in months.
**Existing Disagreements**
Although officials noted that disagreements between the two sides still persist, Hamas's response last week allowed for progress from a general framework to more precise details of the agreement, according to Axios. The framework or proposal presented by the United States, one of the mediators in the ongoing negotiations alongside Egypt and Qatar, included the release of 400 Palestinian prisoners, including 15 serving life sentences for killing Israelis, in exchange for the release of 40 Israeli prisoners.
Hamas, in its response submitted last Thursday, conditioned this on the release of 950 imprisoned individuals, including 150 serving life sentences. The group also requested, according to Israeli officials, the selection of the names of those prisoners to be released, particularly those sentenced to life imprisonment, but Tel Aviv rejected this.
Conversely, the Israeli side demanded that a list of names of those who are still alive be provided and that any Palestinian prisoners released be deported to another country, to which Hamas responded with refusal. The largest gap remains Hamas's request for the Israeli army to withdraw from southern Gaza and for Palestinians to return to northern Gaza. Another point of contention is Hamas's demand that the next phase of the agreement, which could include the release of Israeli soldiers, incorporates a permanent ceasefire.
It is noted that the Israeli negotiating team, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, met on Monday in Doha with Qatari and Egyptian mediators led by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. A source familiar with the opening session of the negotiations indicated that it had been "positive," stating, "Both sides came with some concessions and readiness to negotiate."
**A Long Process**
A senior Israeli official clarified that the current round of talks could take at least two weeks, affirming that it would be "a long, difficult, and complex process, but we want to try to reach an agreement." This round of negotiations comes while both Israel and Hamas are under pressure to reach an agreement that would facilitate a prisoner exchange and initiate a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, where over 31,000 Palestinians have been killed.
