'Hamas Leaders Will Be Allowed To Leave...': Netanyahu Lays Down Condition For Gaza Ceasefire Proposal

Israel's PM Netanyahu asserts military pressure on Hamas has been effective, demanding their disarmament. Hamas has approved a new ceasefire proposal, but Israel submitted a counterproposal.

File Photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Source : PTI

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday asserted that intensified military pressure on Hamas in Gaza had been effective, emphasising that the Palestinian group must surrender its weapons. His remarks came as mediators—Egypt, Qatar, and the United States—continued efforts to broker a ceasefire and secure the release of Israeli hostages.

“We are negotiating under fire… We can see cracks beginning to appear” in Hamas’ demands, Netanyahu said during a cabinet meeting, as quoted by news agency AFP.

On Saturday, a senior Hamas official announced that the group had approved a new ceasefire proposal put forward by the mediators and urged Israel to back it. Netanyahu’s office confirmed the receipt of the proposal and stated that Israel had submitted a counterproposal, but details of the negotiations remain undisclosed.

Rejecting claims that Israel was unwilling to negotiate a deal for the hostages’ release, Netanyahu insisted Hamas must disarm. “We are willing. Hamas must lay down its arms… Its leaders will be allowed to leave [Gaza],” he said, as per AFP.

He further stated that Israel would ensure security in Gaza and facilitate the implementation of former US President Donald Trump’s “voluntary migration plan.” Trump’s plan, announced shortly after he took office, aimed to relocate Gaza’s more than two million residents to neighbouring Egypt and Jordan, a move widely criticised by the international community.

The ceasefire collapsed on 18 March when Israel resumed its aerial bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza, ending weeks of relative calm. On Sunday, at least eight people, including five children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency.

Meanwhile, AP reported that Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayyah, had confirmed the group’s acceptance of the ceasefire proposal mediated by Egypt and Qatar. An Egyptian official, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity, had earlier described the proposal as including the release of five living hostages, including an American-Israeli, in exchange for Israel allowing aid into Gaza and a weeks-long pause in fighting. Israel would also release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

Netanyahu’s office, however, provided no details on Israel’s counterproposal, only stating that it was made in “full coordination” with the United States.

Israel Escalates Offensive After Ceasefire

Elsewhere, tensions escalated as Israel struck Beirut for the first time since a ceasefire ended its latest conflict with Hezbollah. A week and a half ago, Israel had resumed its offensive against Hamas, launching a wave of strikes that killed hundreds. The White House attributed the renewed fighting to Hamas.

Israel has vowed to escalate the war until Hamas releases the 59 remaining hostages—24 of whom are believed to be alive. Additionally, Israel demands Hamas’ disarmament, removal from power, and the exile of its leaders. On Saturday, Israeli forces expanded their ground operations in Rafah, a city in Gaza near the Egyptian border.

Hamas has maintained that it will only release the remaining captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire, and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, AP reported.

Hostages’ Families To Netanyahu: “War Will Not Bring Them Home, It Will Kill Them”

Frustration over the hostages’ fate has sparked protests in Israel. On Saturday, families and supporters rallied in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to bring them home. Protesters chanted, “The price of your war is the life of the hostages!” Minor scuffles broke out with police during the demonstration.

“War will not bring our hostages home, it will kill them,” said Naama Weinberg, cousin of deceased hostage Itay Svirsky, at a weekly gathering of families in Tel Aviv, as quoted by AP.

The ongoing conflict was triggered by Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack, in which Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. In response, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive that has resulted in over 50,000 deaths, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which has not specified the number of civilians and combatants among them.

Israel’s military operations have caused large-scale destruction in Gaza, displacing nearly 90% of the enclave’s population. Earlier this month, Israel again cut off supplies to Gaza to pressure Hamas into accepting new ceasefire terms.

Under the previous truce agreement, phase two negotiations—set to begin in early February—were expected to facilitate the release of the remaining 24 living hostages, bring an end to the war, and ensure Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza. However, Israel had refused to engage in those negotiations, leading to the current impasse.