An Israeli official said Saturday amid reports in Arab media that Hamas has agreed to the hostage deal outline proposed by Egypt that “the IDF will enter Rafah, whether there’ll be a pause in the fighting or not.” This comes after additional reports according to whom the U.S. “gave guarantees to end the war and the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza.”
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Benjamin Netanyahu, encampents in Gaza's Rafah
(Photo: Yariv Katz REUTERS/Saleh Salem)
"Israel will in no way agree to the end of the war as part of a deal to release our hostages," the official added in a statement. "As decided by the government, the IDF will enter Rafah and eliminate the remaining Hamas battalions there, whether or not there will be a temporary pause for the release of our hostages."
This statement drew sharp criticism from Minister Benny Gantz: "An official response to the proposed deal hasn’t been received yet. When it’s received, the War Cabinet will convene and deliberate on it. Until then, I suggest the ‘officials’ and all decision-makers to wait for official updates, to keep a cool head, and not to succumb to hysteria for the sake of political considerations."
A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Saturday in preparation for the terrorist organization's response to the Egyptian proposal - which, according to various indications, is expected to be positive.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Al-Jazeera that the talks are still ongoing. "It's clear that we are progressing. There are some good points. But so far, we’re still talking about the main issue, which is a complete cease-fire and withdrawal from Gaza. We hope for good responses today."
Hamdan said the "elements" to be discussed would also include the announcement of the planned IDF operation in Rafah: "Unfortunately, there was a clear announcement by Netanyahu saying that he will continue the attack regardless of what happens, whether there’s a ceasefire or not. This means that there will be no cease-fire, and that the attack will continue, which goes against what we’re discussing."
"We want to know what it means, what the implications of his statement are, and to hear the mediators' response on it," Hamdan added. "From our understanding, the meaning of any cease-fire agreement is that there will be no more attacks on Gaza and Rafah."
An official Hamas source told the Reuters news agency that the terrorist group’s delegation has arrived in Cairo for further discussion. An Egyptian security source told Reuters: "The results today will be different. We have reached an agreement over many points, and a few points remain,"
A Palestinian source familiar with the mediation efforts also expressed cautious optimism to Reuters, saying: "Things look better this time but whether an agreement is on hand would depend on whether Israel has offered what it takes for that to happen."
Israel remains pessimistic toward the proposed deal, and it’s estimated the chances of a deal being agreed on remain low. The intensive American involvement in the talks does leave a small window for a possible deal, but despite this, the heads of the Mossad and the Shin Bet are the only top decision-makers who believe a proper deal could take place.