Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas’s ceasefire offer to Israel as ‘still absurd’ and approved the Rafah operation.
In a statement released yesterday, Hamas announced that it had presented its proposal for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with Israel to mediators in Qatar and Egypt. A statement from the Israeli prime minister’s press office defended Hamas’ demands in its latest proposal as ‘irrational’.
According to Reuters, the Hamas offer to Israel includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners, including 100 serving life sentences. According to the proposal, Hamas would release women, children, elderly and sick hostages, as well as Israeli ‘female soldiers’, in exchange for the release of 700-1000 Palestinian prisoners.
According to the proposal, after an initial exchange of hostages and prisoners, in the second phase Hamas would agree on a date for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and release all prisoners from both sides.
Israel’s war and security cabinet met in the hours after the details of the Hamas proposal were leaked to the public. A statement released by the Prime Minister’s Press Office said that the war cabinet met in Tel Aviv, chaired by Netanyahu. While no information was given about the agenda or the outcome of the meeting, the Israeli press noted that the War Cabinet meeting took place at a time when prisoner exchanges and efforts at a temporary ceasefire were on the agenda. The statement said that the Security Cabinet met after the War Cabinet meeting.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that Netanyahu had approved a military operation against Rafah, including the evacuation of civilians. “The IDF is the operational side and has prepared for the evacuation of the civilian population,” the statement said.
According to the statement, an Israeli delegation is expected to travel to Doha for talks with the hostages after the security cabinet discusses the government’s position on the issue.
An estimated 1.5 million people, mostly those who fled their homes in the north because of Israeli attacks, are trapped in Rafah on the southern edge of Gaza.
