Israel and Hamas start ceasefire in Qatar when Netanyahu goes to Washington

Delegations from Israel and Hamas started an indirect round of talk about the ceasefire in Qatar when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes to Washington to meet with Donald Trump.

Netanyahu said he believed that his meeting with the US President on Monday should help progress efforts to reach the transaction to release additional hostages and cease fire.

He said he gave his participants with clear instructions to reach the ceasefire agreement in the conditions that Israel accepted.

Hamas said he replied to the last proposal to cease the fire in a positive spirit, but it seems it seems that there are still gaps between the two parties that need to be overcome if any transaction must be agreed.

So far, Hamas, it seems, seems to be essentially the same conditions on which he had previously insisted, including the guarantee of stopping all hostilities at the end of any truce and the abolition of Israeli troops.

The Netanyahu government refused it before.

Israeli position may also not move to any degree. When he left Israel for the United States, Netanyahu said he was still striving for what he called three missions: “The release and return of all hostages, live and dead; the destruction of Hamas – to expel it from there and ensure that Gaza no longer created the threat of Israel.”

Qatari and Egyptian mediators will cut their work during indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, trying to overcome these notable points that have thwarted other initiatives since the ceasefire ended in March.

Since then, Israel has resumed the offensive against Hamas with great intensity, as well as imposing an eleven weekly blockade that was part of the gas that was partially removed a few weeks ago.

The Israeli government states that these measures have been aimed at further weakening Hamas and forcing it to agree and release the hostages.

In the last 24 hours alone, the Israeli military stated that this impressed 130 goals of Hamas and killed a number of militants.

But the cost of civilian life in Gaza also continues to rise. On Sunday, officials of the Hospital were killed in Gaza.

Now the question is not only whether negotiations can reach a compromise acceptable to both parties – but whether Trump can convince Netanyahu that the war should end at their meeting on Monday.

Many in Israel already believe that this is the price to pay to keep the rest of the hostages.

Once again, they took to the streets on Saturday night, urging Netanyahu to reach a deal so that the hostage can be released.

But there are harsh voices in Netanyahu’s office, including National Security Minister Ben Gwir and Finance Minister Lesal Smotrich, who once again expressed their rigid opposition to the gas stop before Hamas was completely eliminated.

Once again there will be a real impetus for ceasefire, but the uncertainty against whether either the Israeli government will be or Hamas is ready to reach an agreement that can avoid the key conditions they still have.

And once again the Palestinians in Gaza and the families of Israeli hostages still remain passionately hope that this will not be another false dawn.

The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and took 251 people hostage.

At least 57,338 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Ministry of Health in the field of health in the territory.