Negotiations Ramp Up

We see in a report from The Times Of Israel that talks for a new deal are getting closer:

Israel’s negotiation team in Qatar was exhausting “every possibility” for a deal to free the hostages, including a framework that would consider an end to the war, the Prime Minister’s Office said Sunday, indicating a shift in position by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Up until now Netanyahu was only looking at a temporary deal that allowed Israel to continue defeat Hamas, but that could be changing:

Netanyahu has until now insisted that the team would only negotiate on the basis of the US special envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal for a short-term ceasefire and limited hostage exchange.

However, in a statement, the PMO said that the team was now working toward the possibility of either Witkoff’s proposal, or an agreement to end the war through a comprehensive release of all hostages in Gaza and the complete surrender and exile of Hamas.

“Under the prime minister’s direction, even at this hour, the negotiating team in Doha is working to exhaust every possibility for a deal — whether according to the Witkoff outline or within the framework of ending the war, which would include the release of all hostages, the exile of Hamas terrorists and the disarmament of the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.

The talks come after Hamas is getting beat up by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and faces the prospect of total defeat unless they do something:

Talks are being held as the Israel Defense Force ramps up a new military offensive in Gaza aimed at seizing most of the Strip. The fighting was likely to significantly expand should the talks fail.

“Thanks to [Netanyahu’s] policy of exerting military and diplomatic pressure, the government has so far succeeded in bringing home 197 hostages, and is doing everything possible to return the 58 remaining captives,” the PMO said.

Meanwhile, an Israeli official told Ynet: “We are giving Hamas a chance to come back from the brink before we take the drastic action in Gaza. We may reach a deal after the fighting, but the conditions will be less favorable for Hamas, so it would be better for them to release our hostages now and reach a deal.”

There are talks floated that would allow Hamas to survive, but it would mean them leaving Gaza permanently and also disarming:

Israel has consistently said that the war will not end without the destruction of Hamas as a military and governing power. In recent talks, Netanyahu has insisted on only agreeing to a temporary ceasefire of roughly 45 days, which would begin with Hamas releasing about 10 hostages. However, in the past, he has floated the willingness to end the war if Hamas surrenders and disarms.

Hamas has indicated a willingness to give up power in Gaza, but has so far refused to give up its weapons.

I doubt that Hamas would take that deal because they have to accept defeat.

And On The Homefront

Back in Israel Netanyahu is facing stiff criticism, though:

Before addressing the negotiations in Qatar, the PMO statement began by criticizing former Israeli hostage negotiator, Brig. Gen. (res.) Oren Setter, who resigned from the team in October and in a February interview accused Netanyahu of missing two opportunities last year for a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Setter thinks a deal could have been reached by now:

In an interview with the Kan public broadcaster, Setter said that he saw an opportunity, under the current combined military and diplomatic pressure, to reach a comprehensive deal for the return of all hostages, but was “concerned it’s going to be missed — that once again, we’ll end up with a partial agreement.”

The PMO begs to disagree with Setter and instead points to Hamas as the roadblock to a deal:

Setter “undermined government policy through deliberate leaks and biased briefings from within the cabinet that harmed the negotiations, endangered our hostages and echoed Hamas’s false propaganda,” wrote the PMO, reiterating its February denial of his statements.

“His claims that an agreement could have been reached earlier are completely baseless. As senior American officials have repeatedly testified, Hamas refused for many months to enter negotiations and was the sole obstacle to a deal,” the statement said.

All of this infighting comes in the shadow of the IDF pummeling Hamas with the Gideon’s Chariot offensive:

The reports come as the IDF significantly ramped up its military pressure in the Gaza Strip after launching its offensive dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots,” which will seek to “seize strategic areas” of the Hamas-run Strip.

According to Israeli officials, the operation aims to seize strategic areas of the Strip, target Hamas, prevent the terror group from taking control of humanitarian aid supplies, and move Palestinians from northern to southern Gaza.

And Hamas agrees that they are getting hit very hard of late, but I am certain that the casualties they’re reporting are from their terrorist ranks, something they are loathe to admit:

Gaza’s Hamas-run authorities reported that widespread Israeli airstrikes have killed over 400 people since Thursday, including 100 people over Saturday night. The tolls cannot be verified and do not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Humanitarian Aid As A Weapon

While humanitarian aid is going to start coming into Gaza again, such aid will only happen until the IDF is ready to do it themselves. Some in the Israeli government think even this temporary aid is wrong:

At the same time, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has been a major opponent of any ceasefire deal, expressed his opposition to the negotiations in Doha and emphasized that no deal had been reached in a radio interview: “If we don’t collapse Hamas, if we don’t go to war until the end, this government has no right to exist.”

“If our hostages don’t eat — there is no reason in the world for us to introduce humanitarian aid. It’s a mistake to make a deal right now and it’s a mistake to give humanitarian aid,” he said.

He also feels that Hamas cannot be allowed to exist in form or fashion:

Ben Gvir also tweeted: “A framework to end the war without defeating Hamas will not come to pass.”

The opinion of some of an impending deal is shared by everyone, though:

Mediators Egypt and Qatar, backed by the US, began a new round of indirect talks with Hamas on Saturday. However, sources close to the negotiations told Reuters there had been no breakthrough.

A Hamas official told the news agency: “Israel’s position is unchanged, they want their prisoners released, without a commitment to end the war.”

And one US envoy remains cautiously optimistic as long as Hamas releases all the hostages:

However, US hostage envoy Adam Boehler said Hamas’s release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander last week was a “sign” that the terror group “understands” that it needs to release hostages “if they want this barrage of attacks to stop.”

Boehler told ‘Fox News Sunday’ that hostage negotiations in Doha are very “fluid,” denying reports that they were not going well.

One major reason for no deal is that Hamas’ leadership is dwindling by the minute:

Potentially complicating the ceasefire talks further, a series of Israeli airstrikes last week killed Muhammad Sinwar, the de facto commander of Hamas in Gaza, according to reports on Sunday that said his body was found in a Khan Younis tunnel.

His brother Yahya Sinwar, the former Hamas leader in Gaza, was killed last October, and another brother, Zakaria Sinwar, was reportedly killed in an airstrike Saturday.

Push is coming to shove on the negotiation front as almost all the new leaders in Hamas are also dying. Soon there won’t be anyone to negotiate with in Gaza. I don’t want to see a deal that gives Hamas more released prisoners and the IDF leaving any areas of Gaza back to Hamas and that is what Hamas wants now. I pray that Israel holds their ground now and doesn’t let the US talk them into a bad deal. Netanyahu critics from all sides don’t want him to give in and I agree with them at least on that point. Stay the current course and they’ll achieve all their goals. This war needs to end.