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The US and UK are doubling down on their diplomatic efforts to find a lasting resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as Hamas and Israel were on Thursday studying proposals to reach a prolonged truce to the war in Gaza.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was expected to arrive on Thursday in Egypt, where other senior Hamas officials are set to join him to discuss truce plans with Egyptian mediators. The proposals were drafted by Egyptian, American, Israeli and Qatari mediators during meetings in Paris this week.
They envisage a ceasefire of up to three months, during which Hamas would release in batches 132 hostages it has held since October, while Israel would in tandem free Palestinians held in its prisons.
The proposals also provide for the entry into Gaza of substantial humanitarian aid to alleviate the suffering of the enclave's 2.3 million residents after nearly four months of relentless Israeli bombardment.
The Israeli onslaught is in response to a surprise attack by Hamas and its allies in southern Israel on October 7, when they killed about 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages back to Gaza. Hamas released 105 of the captives during a week-long truce in late November, in return for the release of 240 Palestinian detainees.
Egyptian sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations said Hamas remained adamant that any deal must include a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and international guarantees that the enclave would not be attacked again.
Israel has yet to give a public response to the proposals but has already said the war would not end until Hamas's military and governing capabilities have been dismantled. It has also insisted on retaining a security role over Gaza to ensure there can never be a repeat of the October 7 attack, which was Israel's deadliest day since it was created in 1948.
“The main points of contention now are the identity and number of Palestinian detainees to be released from Israeli prisons as well as Hamas's demand for guarantees that the war will end,” a source based in Gaza and known to be close to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah told The National on Thursday.
Hamas, said the Egyptian sources, was concerned Israel would resume its military campaign in Gaza once all the hostages had been released.
Hamas is also insisting Palestinians released from Israeli prisons under the deal include high-profile political figures who are serving long jail terms or life sentences after their convictions in security-related cases.
However, a Palestinian official told Reuters on Thursday that Hamas was unlikely to reject the proposals but would not sign off on them without assurances that Israel was committed to ending the war.
“I expect that Hamas will not reject the paper but it might not give a decisive agreement either,” said the Palestinian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Instead, I expect them to send a positive response and reaffirm their demands: for the agreement to be signed, it must ensure Israel will commit to ending the war in Gaza and pull out from the enclave completely.”
Hamas military wing releases video of Israeli hostages
US considering Palestinian state
The wait for a public and final response by Hamas and Israel to the proposals coincided with a potentially seismic shift in the position of the US on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the creation of a Palestinian state would come with “real security guarantees for Israel, because we do believe that is the best way to bring about lasting peace and security for Israel, for Palestinians and for the region”.
“There are any number of ways that you could go about accomplishing that,” he said late on Wednesday.
“There are a number of sequencing of events that you can carry out to accomplish that objective. And we look at a wide range of options and we discuss those with partners in the region as well as other partners inside the United States government.”
Washington has faced domestic and international criticism for its steadfast support of Israel, whose forces have killed more than 27,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children – in Gaza since the war began.
US diplomats have conducted several tours of the Middle East in the months since but have failed to secure a lasting ceasefire agreement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked the State Department to conduct a review and present policy options on possible US and international recognition of a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza, according to a report by Axios published on Wednesday.
The UK, which has also offered Israel strong support since the war began, said it would look into recognising an independent Palestinian state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the creation of a Palestinian state. Hamas, for its part, has dismissed suggestions that such a state would be demilitarised.
Blinken says a Palestinian state is crucial to a stable region
October 7 lawsuit
Meanwhile, more than 60 US citizens and their family members who were killed, injured or taken hostage in the Hamas attacks on October 7 are suing Iran, demanding up to $1 billion from Tehran for aiding the group.
The lawsuit filed on Wednesday night in a federal court in Washington includes vivid details and photographs of the violence on that day.
It details Iran’s history backing Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – another Gaza-based militant group involved in the October 7 attack – including providing tens of millions of dollars each year, along with rockets and other weapons.
In the lead-up to October 7, this morphed into regular meetings between the Iranian military, Hamas, PIJ and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, during which Tehran gave the “green light” to attack Israel, according to the complaint quoted by Bloomberg.
US troops in Iraq, Syria and Jordan have been the targets of attacks by Iran-backed militias. The groups claim the attacks are in response to Washington's support for Israel, although some militia commanders have fought US forces for decades.
Three US soldiers were killed in a drone strike on a base in north-eastern Jordan on Sunday.
American warships have also been the targets of attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, leading to US air strikes on territory held by the rebels.
Calls for a lasting truce have intensified as the death toll in Gaza mounts.
Chicago City Council on Wednesday approved a resolution that called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, making it the largest US city since October to issue such a call.
The resolution also demands greater humanitarian aid for the enclave and the release of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. The city, the third most populous in the US, is home to one of the largest Palestinian communities in the country.
Holly Johnston contributed to this report from Abu Dhabi.
