Israel-Hamas war: Group to consider ceasefire-hostage release proposal that Israeli sources say could avert Rafah invasion

[Pelican Press 0]

*******-****** war: Group to consider ceasefire-******** release proposal that ******** sources say could avert Rafah invasion

Riyadh and Jerusalem
CNN
 — 

****** is considering a new framework proposed by Egypt that calls for the group to release as many as 33 hostages kidnapped from ******* in exchange for a pause in

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, an ******** source familiar with the negotiations and a foreign diplomatic source told CNN.

The latest proposal, which ******* helped craft but has not fully agreed to, is ***** out in two phases, the first of which calls for 20 to 33 hostages to be released over several weeks in exchange for the pause and the release of ************ prisoners. The second phase is what sources described as the “restoration of sustainable calm,” during which the remaining hostages, captive ******** soldiers and the bodies of hostages would be exchanged for more ************ prisoners.

The diplomatic source familiar with the talks said the reference to sustainable calm was “a way to agree to a permanent ceasefire without calling it that.”

After months of deadlock, agreement from both sides would be a major step toward ending the war. But a ******** to agree could deepen *******’s presence in Gaza — if no deal is made, ******* is likely to launcha large-scale ground invasion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering. *******’s allies, including the ******* States, have warned against the operation due to the potential for large-scale civilian casualties.

******* is awaiting a response from ******, which is expected to meet Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo on Monday, the sources said. A working-level ******** delegation of Mossad, Shin Bet and the ******** military officials is expected to travel to Cairo on Tuesday, the ******** source and another ******** official said.

A response from Yahya Sinwar, the ****** leader in Gaza, is expected within days — possibly within the next 24 hours.

The length of the first phase of the pause in hostilities would be linked to the number of hostages released, with the latest framework calling for a one-day pause for each ********, the ******** source said, although this number is expected to shift during more in-depth negotiations.

The release of 40 hostages for a six-week ceasefire had been the basis of negotiations for months, but ******* has agreed to accept fewer hostages in the first phase after ****** dropped its offer to fewer than 20 people earlier this month.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that ****** has been presented with a ceasefire proposal that is “extraordinarily generous on the part of *******.”

“In this moment the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is ******,” he told World Economic Forum (WEF) President Børge Brende in the Saudi capital Riyadh. “They (******) have to decide and they have to decide quickly,” he said. “I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision.”

Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the US-***** Quint Meeting with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the ******* ***** Emirates and the ************ Authority, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on April 29.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, also speaking in Riyadh, said he was hopeful that ******* and ****** will accept the proposal.

“There is a proposal on the table, up to the two sides to consider and accept but certainly the objective is a ceasefire, a permanent ceasefire and dealing with the humanitarian conditions,” Shoukry told a panel at the WEF in Riyadh on Monday.

He said he is hopeful that “the proposal has been taken into account” and that “we are waiting to have a final decision.”

******** officials have expressed an openness to negotiating the “restoration of sustainable calm” as part of a comprehensive deal that would effectively end the war.

An ******** source familiar with the negotiations said Egypt has proposed the parties agree to a one-year ceasefire as part of a comprehensive deal that would see ******** forces withdraw from Gaza and the release of all remaining hostages and the bodies of those who have *****.

CNN has reached out to the Egyptian government for comment.

****** has insisted that a permanent ceasefire and a full ******** withdrawal from Gaza should be part of the agreement. ******* has thus far maintained that its operation in Gaza will continue until ****** is eradicated.

******* has also now agreed to the unrestricted movement of Palestinians to northern Gaza, the sources said, a key demand by ****** which has held back negotiations in the past.

Hanging over the negotiations is the increasingly likely prospect of an ******** military offensive in Rafah, which ******** officials have signposted for months but are now holding back, saying they want to give space to the negotiations.

But ******** sources have characterized the latest Egyptian effort to broker a deal as the last chance to avert that offensive.

“The only chance to stop Rafah is a deal,” the ******** source familiar with the negotiations said.

The US and other ******* allies have warned that such an operation will not have their support if adequate measures aren’t taken to ensure the safety of civilians.

“Preparations for entering Rafah continue. In any deal, if there is one, ******* will not give up the goals of the war,” the ******** official said.

Blinken reiterated in Riyadh that the US wouldn’t support a major military operation in Rafah “in the absence of a plan to ensure that civilians will not be harmed”.

“We have not yet seen a plan that civilians can be effectively protected,” he said.

White House National Security Council communications adviser John Kirby said Sunday that ******* has told its US counterparts that it won’t launch an invasion of Rafah until the Biden administration can share its concerns.

“I think we have to have a better understanding from the Israelis about what they want to do as a matter of fact, we’ve had several staff talks with them, we intend to do that more,” he said on ABC. “They’ve assured us that they won’t go into Rafah until we’ve had a chance to really share our perspectives and our concerns with them.”

In a call Sunday with ******** Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden addressed the need for increased humanitarian assistance and “reiterated his clear position” on a potential ******** invasion of Rafah, according to a White House readout of the conversation.

The ****** toll from *******’s bombardment in Gaza continued to climb over the weekend.

Twenty people, including at least one infant and a toddler, ***** following an ******** airstrike over Rafah, Gaza, overnight into Monday, according to hospital officials.

And in Gaza City, seven Palestinians were ******* and dozens injured in two separate ******** airstrikes overnight, Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmmoud Basal told CNN. An ******** airstrike struck a two-story house belonging to the Tartouri family in the port area west of Gaza City, ******** 5 Palestinians and wounding several others, Basal said.

In a separate incident, two people were ******* and several others injured when an ******** airstrike targeted a house belonging to the Hijazi family in the Sabra neighborhood in the center of Gaza City, according to Basal.

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