Hamas proposal raises cease-fire hopes

The Israeli army has seized and closed the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, which has functioned as the main route for humanitarian aid to enter the Palestinian enclave during the conflict. That means Gaza has been effectively cut off from humanitarian aid since Tuesday.

The latest military offensive seems to be misleading Israel into believing that the deeper it pushes into the Palestinian enclave the more initiative it can gain in the resumed negotiations with Hamas.

At the ongoing talks among Hamas, Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar resumed on Wednesday, the Hamas delegation presented a newly revised proposal. That prompted White House spokesperson John Kirby to say that the remaining gaps can “absolutely be closed”.

This is arguably the first time since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct 7 that the US side has expressed optimism about the possibility of a cease-fire being agreed. Given the special role the US assumes in the conflict — US military aid is a must for Israel to sustain its offensive — the optimism Washington has expressed offers reason to hope that a cease-fire agreement will finally be achieved.

Although the details of the new proposal of Hamas remain unknown, the militant group has apparently made marked concessions in it, showing its sincerity for peace. As its spokesperson said, “the ball is now in Benjamin Netanyahu’s court” and the US has no reason not to exert greater pressure on its ally to bring the war to an end.

But Tel Aviv must realize that it is not its gains on the battlefield that has prompted Hamas to revise its cease-fire proposal but the joint efforts of the international community, including those that are not directly taking part in the peace talks in Cairo, such as China and France.

It should also note that Hamas official Osama Hamdan, speaking to reporters in Beirut on Tuesday, warned that if Israel’s military aggression continued in Rafah, there would be no cease-fire agreement.

Since Hamas has nowhere to withdraw from the Gaza Strip, the ongoing peace talks in Cairo might be the last chance for peace. A chance that will be squandered if Israel chooses to reach for a yard after taking an inch, and which will result in a humanitarian tragedy that Israel will find hard to live down.

Tel Aviv should discard any notion it may have that by intensifying its attacks on Rafah, it can force Hamas to make more concessions. Doing so would only distance it further from the international community, most of whose members already find Israel’s military campaign in Gaza beyond the pale.

Nor should Tel Aviv dismiss the fact that Hamas’ regional allies will not sit idle in the face of Israel continuing to squeeze the space for the Palestinians in Rafah.

Since Israel now technically controls all the major channels by which aid can enter Gaza, how it will cater to the needs of the Palestinian civilians besieged in the enclave will also be a test of Tel Aviv’s as well as Washington’s moral compass. Israel should do everything possible to avoid an even worse humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.

War and violence are not the way to solve what is essentially a political problem. They will never bring true security, and will only deepen hatred. The immediate priority is to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 2728, realize a cease-fire at once, ensure humanitarian relief, and return to the right track of seeking a political settlement to the Palestinian question on the basis of the two-state solution. That is the only way to meet the legitimate aspirations of the Israeli and Palestinian people for lasting peace and security.