Israel seeks truce on its terms as army edges into Gaza City
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene Israel’s top decision-making forum on Tuesday to discuss prospects for a deal to wind down the almost two-year-old war in Gaza, at the same time as the army prepares for a final push into the Palestinian territory’s biggest city.
Hamas will be given until mid-September to agree to a ceasefire leading to the return of the remaining 50 Israeli hostages and the dismantling of what remains of its government and weapons, according to an aide to the Israeli premier, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter. Should Hamas fail to agree to the terms, Israel will by then have completed military preparations and the Gaza City operation will begin, the aide said.
Negotiations for a truce have dragged on for months, with little progress made. In the latest iteration, Hamas said it had agreed to a deal proposed by Qatar and Egypt, two key mediators, whereby it would release around half of the hostages in return for a partial withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Israel has yet to formally respond, but has maintained that talks should focus on the release of all the hostages straight away. Netanyahu said last week negotiators are ready for a new round of mediated talks, but neither a venue nor date have been set.
“We want to be in a position where we bring back all 50 hostages - on condition that our terms are accepted,” Energy Minister Eli Cohen, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, told Israel’s Army Radio on Tuesday. “We won’t leave a situation for years to come in which Hamas can rehabilitate and reorganize itself.”
Israel should respond to the proposal that Hamas agreed to more than a week ago, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman said Tuesday, according to a report by Al-Jazeera. He added the ball is now in Israel’s court and negotiators are awaiting an answer.
The Israeli government is under pressure from many of its civilians and international governments to end the war, which has lead to more than 62,000 Palestinian fatalities, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Last week a United Nations-backed body declared a famine in Gaza. European and other countries, already critical of the war’s spiraling humanitarian toll, have condemned the planned push into Gaza’s de facto capital.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia called on the international community, and the permanent members of the UN in particular, to “end the famine in the Gaza Strip and stop the genocide and crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army against the brotherly Palestinian people.”
The strongly-worded statement is symbolic of growing anger over the human toll in Gaza in the Arab world. The kingdom - whose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is close to US President Donald Trump - has condemned the war, but seldom used the word “genocide” to describe it. The US is one of the UN’s permanent members.
Gaza City Countdown
The Israeli military has given itself five months to complete the Gaza City takeover, a former senior officer in the Israeli military said. Troops and tanks encircled the city - home to almost one million people before the war started - over the weekend and were carrying out incursions and airstrikes, prompting many residents to flee, according to reports from Israel’s Channel 12 television and the Gaza Civil Defense Service.
Israeli officials have said the army will give civilians in Gaza City notice before the operation starts in earnest so that they can move south. Israel says it will expanded aid distribution as part of that.
Trump - a Netanyahu ally who has echoed the call for Hamas’ removal from power in Gaza - said on Monday that he wanted the war to end “soon,” a sign that patience is wearing thin in Washington.
“It’s got to get over with because, between the hunger and all of the other problems - worse than hunger, death, pure death - people being killed,” he said, adding there was a “very serious diplomatic push” under way.
Israel denies there is a famine in Gaza and says it has put policies in place to prevent starvation.
Trump didn’t say what the US would do if Israel’s campaign drags on or give details about the state of any diplomatic moves.
Netanyahu also faces pressure at home, where polls have for months shown most Israelis prefer a deal to recover the remaining hostages, even if it leaves Hamas standing. Relatives of the hostages - 20 of whom are believed to be alive - fear an escalation of the campaign into Gaza City will put their lives at risk.
There were more protests in Israel on Tuesday, with demonstrators blocking highways and demanding the government return to ceasefire negotiations.
“Advancing the plan to conquer Gaza while there’s an agreement lying on the table for the prime minister’s signature is a stab in the heart of the families and the entire nation,” said Itzik Horn, whose sons Eitan and Iair were among 250 people kidnapped by Hamas. Iair was freed in one of two previous ceasefires, while Eitan remains in Gaza.
Iran-backed Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the US and many other countries, triggered the war with an incursion into Israel in which 1,200 people were killed. Israel has lost more than 450 soldiers in Gaza combat.