GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 392

Hamas Is Stalling - Again

No Surprise

As we read in a report from The Times Of Israel Hamas rejects any deal that doesn’t end the war on them:

Hamas on Thursday rejected any proposal for a temporary halt to more than a year of fighting in Gaza and reiterated its insistence on a lasting ceasefire, as American, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators tried to coax the Palestinian terror group back to the negotiating table.

No surprise there. And they made is very clear when they said this:

“The idea of a temporary pause in the war, only to resume aggression later, is something we have already expressed our position on. Hamas supports a permanent end to the war, not a temporary one,” senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP.

The offer of a ceasefire for a short time will be given to Hamas:

Mediators seeking to broker a Gaza ceasefire were expected to present Hamas with a proposal for a truce of less than a month, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP on Wednesday.

The proposal was discussed during meetings in Doha between Mossad head David Barnea, CIA Director Bill Burns, and Qatar’s prime minister, which concluded on Monday, the source said on condition of anonymity because of the talks’ sensitivity.

The current offer only releases a small amount of hostages, though and only women and children:

According to the reports in Hebrew media, the Mossad chief presented Qatari interlocutors with a proposal for the release of 11-14 hostages from Gaza in exchange for around 100 Palestinian security prisoners from Israel, along with a monthlong pause in fighting in the Strip.

All of the remaining women and children held by the terror group would reportedly be among the hostages that would be released in the deal.

The hope is that a temporary deal will them lead to a long-lasting one:

“US officials believe that if a short-term deal can be reached, it could lead to a more permanent agreement,” the source said.

The Hamas official said that they would reply to it, but their demands from the past remain:

Nunu said Hamas had not received any proposal so far, adding that if the terror group were to receive such a plan, it would respond.

However, he reiterated the demands the group has been insisting on for months — “a permanent ceasefire, withdrawal [of Israeli forces] from Gaza, the return of displaced people, sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza and a serious prisoner exchange deal.”

Some reports had Hamas dropping their demands for the IDF to completely leave Gaza:

According to the earlier reports, the proposal does not demand a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip nor a complete end to the fighting — both of which have been sticking points in previous rounds of failed negotiations, as Hamas has insisted it will agree to nothing less.

But they still appear to want any deal to include an end to the fighting and Israel to leave the Gaza Strip. In short, we’re right back where we were back in November.

Few Left

According to a report from The Jerusalem Post the IDF has eliminated almost all of the remaining leadership of Hamas:

The IDF eliminated Hamas's National Relations head Izz al-Din Kassab on Friday in Khan Yunis, Gaza, who was also one of the last remaining members of the terrorist organization's political bureau still inside the Palestinian enclave.

As with previous eliminations, this one was based on gathered information:

The strike that killed Kassab was completed based on IDF and ISA intelligence. His assistant Ayman Ayesh was also killed in the strike.

Kassab was a high ranking Hamas official:

He was also responsible for Hamas's relations and cooperation, whether strategic or military, with other terrorist organizations within the Gaza Strip such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Kassab also held authority within the Gazan terrorist organization to direct attacks against Israel, the IDF noted.

The IDF hasn’t forgotten about Hamas in Gaza while the world looks at Hezbollah and Iran:

Two days earlier, the IDF conducted a strike targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists, also in Khan Yunis.

The IAF used IDF and ISA intelligence to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, the military announced.

All of this brings up what is left of Hamas still working in Gaza. Those negotiating on their behalf don’t even live there so who are they fighting for? If there’s no government there, all they have left to bargain for is releasing the hostages to get new leaders from Israeli prisons to keep the terrorist organization running. It looks like the IDF needs to root out the locations of the hostages on their own. I wish that what’s left of Hamas would simply surrender, release the hostages and move to other parts of the world. That would bring peace to that area of Israel immediately.