Israel / Hostages set the agenda

With the opposition inside the country becoming increasingly demanding and aggressive, Israel’s war council has given its consent to the continuation of talks with Hamas, with the aim of a ceasefire and mainly the release of hostages held by the organization from in early October.

An Israeli delegation is expected to travel to Qatar for the relevant talks aimed at a truce and despite the reactions of the hard-liners in the government who still talk about total victory. The relevant contacts were preceded in Paris, where the head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence service, David Barnea, was since Friday in order to be informed about the truce plan, which has essentially been worked out by the US, Egypt and Qatar.

According to sources in the Palestinian Islamist movement, the plan, which has been on the table since January, calls for a six-week ceasefire and the release of 200-300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 35-40 hostages who could be released immediately. A senior Egyptian official said mediators are awaiting Israel’s official response to the draft agreement.

Large anti-government demonstrations

In Israel, large demonstrations took place over the weekend against the policies of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who is accused of being partly responsible for the continued hostage-taking of Israelis who fell into the hands of Hamas after the surprise attack on October 7 last year. The issue of the fate of the hostages remains dominant in the public debate and has caused intense polarization in the country’s society.

Demonstrators held banners saying that the government prefers to sacrifice the lives of the hostages in order to stay alive itself. The protests were intense and the security forces dealt with them harshly. In Tel Aviv, the police used water cannons against the demonstrators, while similar incidents occurred in similar gatherings in other Israeli cities. The tone was often set by reserve officers of the Israeli army, some of whom have returned wounded from the front.

Measured expectations

For an agreement to be reached, Israel has so far set as a key condition “the release of all the hostages, starting with the women,” according to what Benjamin Netanyahu’s national security adviser Tchai Hanegbi reiterated.

“An agreement of this kind does not mean an end to the war,” however, clarified the Israeli Prime Minister’s advisor.
Hamas, for its part, demands a “complete ceasefire” and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Essentially, both sides are sticking to positions they have publicly expressed for several weeks, and this makes political analysts quite cautious about the prospects of finding common ground.

In the meantime, the daily appeals of UN representatives continue for the ever-deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk denounced the “gross violations” of human rights “on all sides”. But he pointed out in particular the “blockade and siege imposed on Gaza” by the Israeli army, which could be “interpreted as the use of starvation as a method of war”, which, he reminded, is a “war crime”.

At least 26,692 Palestinians have been killed and 69,879 injured in Israeli shelling of Gaza since October 7, the Gaza Health Ministry said.