Israel this week introduced what it said was a new US ceasefire plan – different from the one it agreed to in January – and is trying to force Hamas to accept it by imposing a siege on the Gaza Strip.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to it as the “Witkoff proposal,” saying it came from US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff. But the White House has yet to confirm that, saying only that it supports whatever action Israel takes.
Netanyahu’s remarks came a day after the first phase of the negotiated ceasefire ended, with no clarity on what would come next since the agreement’s second phase has not yet been hammered out.
The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages – the Palestinian group’s main bargaining chip – in exchange for a ceasefire extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners – a key component of the first phase.
Hamas has accused Israel of trying to sabotage the existing agreement, which called for the two sides to negotiate the return of the remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire. But no substantive negotiations have been held.
On Sunday, Israel halted all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza’s population of some 2 million people and vowed “additional consequences” if Hamas did not embrace the new proposal.
Arab leaders are meanwhile finalizing a separate plan for postwar Gaza to counter Trump’s suggestion that its population be relocated so it can be transformed into a tourist destination.
But all bets are off if the war resumes.
The ceasefire reached in January, after more than a year of negotiations mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, laid out a three-phase plan to return all the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and ending the war triggered by the attack.
Hamas-led fighters killed some 1,200 people that day, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostage. More than 100 were released in an earlier ceasefire. Israeli forces rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies before the current ceasefire took hold.
During the first, six-week phase, Hamas released 25 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces withdrew from most of Gaza and allowed an influx of desperately needed humanitarian aid. Each side accused the other of violations, but the deal held.
Phase 2 was always going to be far more difficult because it would force Israel to choose between securing the return the hostages and annihilating Hamas – two of Netanyahu’s main war goals.
Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza, has said it will only release the remaining hostages if Israel ends the war. But that would leave the Palestinian group intact and with major influence over the territory, even if it hands over formal power to other Palestinians, as it says it is willing to do.
Hamas still has 59 hostages, 35 of whom are believed to be dead. Under the so-called Witkoff plan, it would release half the hostages on the first day – apparently without getting anything new in return.
The sides would then have around six weeks – through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday ending April 20 – to negotiate a permanent ceasefire and the return of the remaining hostages.
But with fewer hostages, Hamas’ hand would be weakened, and Israel and the United States are already speaking about new conditions – like the disarmament of Hamas or the exile of its leadership – that were not part of the original agreement.
Associated Press
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