As the Gaza war enters its fifth month, more than 25,000 Palestinians, including civilians and combatants, have been killed and Israel has little hope of achieving its goal of destruction. Mr. Hamas, it appears that no one has come up with a concrete proposal satisfactory to both sides to stop the conflict, let alone end it. But there are proposals, even if half-baked, that show a willingness for dialogue on both sides.
Indeed, Qatar, the main mediator, said that “serious discussions” were underway between Israel and Hamas and that it was receiving “continuous responses” from both sides. The White House said there had been no “negotiations” yet. But as indirect talks progress, we seem to be inching toward a possible area of agreement, which Ofer Shelah, a senior fellow at the Israel Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), describes as “Zopa.”
On Monday, Axios reported that Israel had offered a two-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of all of the more than 100 hostages still held in Gaza. Later that day, CNN learned that David Barnea, the head of Mossad, had proposed granting asylum to Hamas leaders as part of a broader ceasefire.
On Tuesday, wall street journal Hamas has now said it is willing to release some of the hostages in exchange for a brief pause in fighting. And Reuters reported that Israel and Hamas had agreed in principle to a one-month ceasefire. During this period, kidnappers will be released and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons will be released.
keep reading More about this analysis About how Israel and Hamas are moving toward negotiations to end the war.