Hamas issued its demands for reaching an agreement with Israel to release the remaining hostages and end the war. Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect negotiations to attempt to reach an agreement under a framework proposed by President Donald Trump.
On Tuesday, Hamas gave its demands for reaching a deal. The Palestinian group’s positions include a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from all of Gaza, the unrestricted entry of humanitarian and relief aid, and the immediate rebuilding of the Strip overseen by Palestinians.
Demanding the full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza may create a barrier to reaching a deal. Under Trump’s 20-point peace plan, Israel would engage in a phased withdrawal from Gaza but retain a large buffer zone around the Strip.
Additionally, the President’s proposal called for the rebuilding of Gaza to be completed by a trust that includes Trump as the chair and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on the board.
Trump unveiled the peace plan in a presser with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week. However, after Hamas agreed to release the Israeli hostages on Friday and Trump called for an immediate ceasefire, Netanyahu has continued military operations in Gaza.
Tuesday’s negotiations between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Egypt and Qatar, were the second day of talks. On Monday, Egyptian and Qatari officials reported the negotiations were “positive,” and Trump said the deal had a “good chance.”
Netanyahu has remained pessimistic that a deal will be completed, reportedly leading to friction with Trump. On Friday, Axios reports, Trump lashed out at Netanyahu on a call when he expressed skepticism about Hamas agreeing to release the hostages.
Hamas and Trump have said that a ceasefire is critical to facilitating the release of the remaining 48 Israeli hostages in Gaza. Israeli strikes in Gaza continued on Tuesday. Netanyahu says he will not order the IDF to halt operations until all the hostages are returned to Israel.
Hamas’s spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, said that the group was working to “overcome all obstacles” to reach an agreement, but Netanyahu was attempting to “obstruct and thwart” a deal as he had “deliberately thwarted all previous rounds.”
Israel has assassinated multiple Hamas negotiators over the past two years. Last month, Netanyahu ordered the assassination of the Palestinian group’s leadership in Qatar as they were meeting to discuss a ceasefire and hostage exchange proposed by Trump. The Israeli strikes failed to kill the targeted Hamas official.
On Tuesday, Trump said he had dispatched American negotiators to join the ongoing talks in Egypt.
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Anitwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.
