Israel and Hamas both signaled over the weekend that efforts for a renewed cease-fire in Gaza were underway, less than two weeks after the breakdown of a temporary truce and the resumption of Israel’s air and ground campaign against the militant group in the enclave.
Hamas said on Saturday that it had accepted a proposal for a new cease-fire, which would see some hostages released from captivity in Gaza. Israel said it, too, had received a proposal via third-party mediators and had responded with a counterproposal in coordination with the United States.
“The military pressure is working,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Sunday in remarks at the start of his weekly cabinet meeting, adding that Israel was “suddenly seeing cracks” in Hamas’s position.
Since Israel resumed attacks on the Gaza Strip on March 18, over 900 people have been killed, the enclave’s health ministry said on Saturday. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Neither side published details of the proposal or the counterproposal, but an official briefed on the talks suggested that they broadly echoed previous proposals floated in recent weeks. While there was no indication that a breakthrough was imminent, the public statements suggested that after weeks of fruitless negotiations, contacts over a deal were proceeding even as the war continued.
On Sunday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said it had recovered the bodies of eight emergency medical technicians, five Civil Defense personnel and a United Nations employee in Rafah in southern Gaza. The medical organization said it had lost contact with nine of its crew members more than a week ago after they were directly fired upon by Israeli forces. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What did Hamas say?
Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official and negotiator, said in a speech on Saturday that his group had received a proposal two days earlier from Egyptian and Qatari mediators for a renewed cease-fire, adding that Hamas had “responded positively and approved it.”
He did not detail the terms, but recent negotiations, including an unusual round of direct talks between U.S. and Hamas officials, had focused on securing the release of Edan Alexander, the only Israeli American hostage still believed to be alive, as well as the bodies of four other Israeli Americans.
That was a nonstarter for Israel, which had demanded the release of 10 or 11 living hostages for a seven-week extension of the temporary cease-fire, based on an earlier proposal it attributed to the White House Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff.
What did Israel say?
After Mr. al-Hayya’s speech on Saturday, Mr. Netanyahu said he had held a series of consultations on Friday after receiving the proposal, according to a statement from his office. Israel had sent a counterproposal to mediators a few hours earlier, the statement added.
The official briefed on the talks, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss delicate diplomacy, said that Israel still sought the release of 10 living hostages for any resumption of the cease-fire and that Egypt was behind the latest proposal.
Up to 24 living hostages remain in Gaza, according to Israel, along with the remains of another 35 people. They were among the roughly 250 people taken captive during the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023 that ignited the war.
What are the main sticking points?
Beyond agreeing on the numbers of hostages and Palestinian prisoners to be released, any renewed cease-fire will most likely be elusive so long as the two sides remain at odds over more fundamental issues — including irreconcilable demands about the future of Gaza.
Mr. al-Hayya said Hamas was committed to reaching an agreement that would guarantee a permanent cease-fire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, general terms that the sides had already agreed upon to extend the truce that ultimately collapsed.
“We do not want anything new,” Mr. al-Hayya said on Saturday. “We want to respect what was signed, what the guarantors guaranteed, and what the international community approved.”
Israel has conditioned ending the war on Hamas laying down its arms and relinquishing rule in Gaza. Mr. al-Hayya said the group’s “weapons of resistance” were a “red line” as long as Israel occupies Palestinian land.
What has changed?
Israel and Hamas have each blamed the other for the collapse of the first phase of the cease-fire that came into effect in mid-January.
But both are now facing heightened pressure to renew the truce.
When the first phase of the cease-fire expired in early March, Israel halted the entry of all commercial goods and humanitarian aid into Gaza, worsening conditions for an already exhausted population in a bid to force Hamas into accepting a temporary extension of the cease-fire instead of negotiating a permanent one.
More than 50,000 Gazans have been killed so far in the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and much of the enclave is in ruins.
Protests have since broken out against Hamas in Gaza. An activist in the protest movement said he was worried that Hamas may accept another temporary cease-fire so that its security forces can come out of hiding and crack down on the protesters without fear of being attacked by Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu has also come under domestic pressure. Many Israelis have accused him of failing to prioritize the hostages and prolonging the war in Gaza to keep far-right members of his ruling coalition on board to ensure his political survival.
“We are committed to bringing the hostages home,” Mr. Netanyahu said on Sunday, rejecting the popular criticism. “The combination of military pressure and diplomatic pressure is the only thing that will bring the hostages back,” he added.
