IRIA News

The Palestinian militant group Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators Qatar and Egypt for a truce in the seven-month Gaza war. Israel, however, rejected the terms, saying the proposal falls short of its demands and vows to proceed with its planned Rafah offensive.

According to a document, the ceasefire proposal consists of three stages and aims to conclude Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, along with facilitating the release of Israeli prisoners held in the enclave and Palestinian detainees held in Israeli jails.

Hamas said in a brief statement on May 6, 2024, that its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, had informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators that the group accepted their proposal for a ceasefire. Qatar’s foreign ministry said its delegation will head to Cairo to resume indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Hamas’s announcement about accepting the ceasefire terms met with celebrations in Gaza as Palestinians hoped it would finally bring an end to a nearly seven-month-long war in which Israel has killed at least 34,700 people in the Palestinian territory.

#BREAKING ✌️ Despite waiting for the Israeli side to approve the ceasefire proposal, thousands of Palestinians in the city of Rafah are experiencing moments of joy and hope for the end of the war on Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Sj8DfzL60e

— Gaza Notifications (@gazanotice) May 6, 2024

Key points from the three-phase ceasefire deal

The proposed agreement is complex, comprising three phases, each spanning six weeks or 42 days. The guarantors of the agreement include Qatar, Egypt, the United States, and the United Nations.

Phase 1: During the initial phase, hostilities between Hamas and Israel would temporarily cease. Israel would withdraw to the eastern regions of Gaza, away from densely populated areas, and toward the border with the Palestinian enclave. Israeli aerial activity over Gaza would halt for 10 hours daily, extending to 12 hours progressively.

Hamas would release 33 captives and the remains of deceased captives. Those released would primarily include women, individuals over 50, and non-combatant youths under 19. Israel, in turn, would release 30 Palestinians for each Israeli captive freed alive. Moreover, for each female Israeli soldier released by Hamas, Israel would release 50 Palestinians.

Additionally, the agreement specifies that reconstruction efforts in Gaza must commence during the first phase, alongside the provision of aid. Furthermore, UNRWA and other relief organizations would be permitted to operate to assist civilians.

Phase 2: During the second phase of the agreement, military operations would cease permanently, accompanied by a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Another prisoner exchange would occur, this time encompassing all remaining Israeli males, including soldiers detained in Gaza. In exchange, an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners would be released.

Phase 3: The third phase would entail the exchange of captive remains and prisoners held by both parties. Additionally, this stage would introduce a reconstruction plan spanning three to five years for Gaza. Perhaps most notably, it would mark the complete end of the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip.

Israel criticizes terms of ceasefire but continues talks

Israel’s response to the ceasefire talks has been less enthusiastic, as it continued to emphasize its desire to attack Rafah in southern Gaza and to completely defeat Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office remarked that the ceasefire proposal did not meet Israel’s requirements. However, Israel expressed willingness to dispatch a delegation to meet with negotiators in Cairo to achieve a consensus. “Although the Hamas proposal is far from Israel’s necessary requirements, Israel will send a working delegation to the mediators to exhaust the possibility of reaching an agreement under conditions acceptable to Israel,” he said in a post on X.

In a statement, Netanyahu’s office added that his war cabinet approved continuing an operation in Rafah “to exert military pressure on Hamas.” Meanwhile, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir immediately took to social media to reject the deal and call for the invasion of Rafah.

World reaction to Hamas agreeing to truce proposal

Israel’s negative response to the possibility of a ceasefire met with criticism from the regional stakeholders. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that Netanyahu was jeopardizing a ceasefire by bombing Rafah.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington would discuss the Hamas response with its allies in the coming hours, and a deal was “absolutely achievable”. Miller declined to confirm whether Hamas had agreed to a U.S.-approved offer or to a different version of the proposal. “As you know, [CIA] Director [William] Burns is in the region working on this in real-time. We will be discussing this response with our partners over the coming hours,” he added.

US response on Hamas agreeing to a ceasefire proposal.

“Hamas has issued a response. We are reviewing that response now and discussing it with our partners in the region.” — US State Dept spokesperson Matthew Millerpic.twitter.com/XpsMLeqz8p

— IRIA (@IRIA_Research) May 6, 2024

Meanwhile, the White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said that President Joe Biden had been briefed on Hamas’s response, adding that talks were at a “critical stage” and he refrained from commenting further and said that he did not want to say anything that would jeopardize the prospects of reaching an agreement. Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for about 30 minutes about Rafah and the hostage and ceasefire proposal.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is currently on a Europe tour, called for an “immediate, comprehensive and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza.” Speaking in Paris, Xi reiterated said China’s support of the full membership of Palestine in the United Nations.

Jordan’s King Abdullah urged President Joe Biden to “take urgent action to prevent a new catastrophe” as Israel prepares a ground operation on the Gaza city of Rafah. In his private meeting with Biden at the White House, Abdullah “warned of the repercussions of the Israeli ground offensive on Rafah, which could cause a regional spillover of the conflict.”

Israeli protesters call on Netanyahu to accept truce deal

Soon after the news of Hamas’s agreement to truce deal, hundreds of Israelis rallied around the country, calling for the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to the terms of a ceasefire deal that Hamas accepted. In Jerusalem, nearly a hundred marched towards Netanyahu’s home with a banner reading: “The blood is on your hands.”

The hostage families said in a statement that the announcement from Hamas must lead to “the return of the 132 hostages held captive by Hamas for the past seven months.”

IDF says it has taken control of Rafah crossing’s Gaza side

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Tuesday that it had taken “operational control” of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing. Wael Abu Omar, a Gaza border official, said travel and the flow of aid into the Strip have “stopped completely” as a result.

Israeli tanks have taken over the Rafah border crossing after advancing during the night as their warplanes pounded residential homes, killing at least 12 people. The Israeli military said they “struck and eliminated Hamas terror targets in the Rafah area,” and killed 20 Hamas gunmen.

A day earlier, the Israeli military called on around 100,000 Palestinians living in parts of eastern Rafah to “evacuate immediately,” telling them to move to Al-Mawasi, a coastal town near the city of Khan Younis, ahead of the planned Israeli ground offensive in Rafah. Around 1.5 million people of Gaza’s displaced population are currently sheltering in Rafah, which was home to about 275,000 people before the war.