Hamas officials have shown Al Jazeera a copy of the Egyptian-Qatari ceasefire proposal the movement says it has agreed to.

The proposal includes three phases, and would see an end to Israel’s war on Gaza, as well as the release of Israeli captives held in the enclave, and Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Keep reading

list of 3 itemslist 2 of 3

World reacts to Israel’s Rafah evacuation order

end of list

Hamas’s announcement on Monday was met with celebrations in Gaza itself, as Palestinians there hope it will finally bring an end to a war that has gone on for almost seven months, and in which Israel has killed at least 34,700 people in Gaza.

However, Israel’s response has been less enthusiastic, as it continued to emphasise its desire to attack Rafah in southern Gaza, and to completely defeat Hamas.

Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 killed around 1,400 people, and 250 were taken captive to Gaza. Approximately 100 of those captives are believed to still be alive and in Gaza, with others released or killed during the war.

For their part, United States officials have refused to provide detailed comment on the news.

Palestinians react after Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 6, 2024. [Doaa Al Baz/Reuters]

What is the deal Hamas says it has agreed to?

The agreement is a complicated one, and would involve three phases, each of which would last six weeks.

In the first phase, there would be a temporary cessation of hostilities between Hamas and Israel, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the east, away from the more heavily-populated areas of Gaza, and towards the border between Israel and the Palestinian enclave. Israeli airplanes and drones would also stop flying over Gaza for 10 hours each day, and for 12 hours on days when captives are released.

Hamas would gradually release 33 captives (whether captives who are alive or the remains of captives who have died) in the first phase. The captives will be women, anyone above the age of 50, captives who are sick, or non-soldiers under the age of 19. In return, 30 Palestinians would be released for each civilian Israeli captive released alive, and 50 for every female soldier released.

The withdrawal of Israeli forces would allow displaced Palestinian civilians to return to their homes across Gaza, and would occur gradually as Hamas releases captives. Separately, the deal stipulates that reconstruction work in Gaza must begin in this phase, as well as the flow of aid, and for UNRWA and relief organisations to be allowed to work to help civilians.

In the second phase of the deal, there will be a permanent end to military operations and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as well as another prisoner swap, this time involving all the remaining Israeli men, including soldiers. The Israelis would be released in return for an as yet unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.

The third phase of the deal would see an exchange of the remains of captives and prisoners held by both sides. On the development side, this phase would involve a three to five year reconstruction plan for Gaza, and, perhaps most significantly, an end to the Israeli blockade of the enclave.

What has the reaction been from Israel?

Israel had on Monday told Palestinians in eastern Rafah to leave, as it prepared to launch a military campaign in the area, despite international opposition. That had seemed to indicate that the Israelis did not think a deal was on the cards.

But now, as Hamas’s deputy leader Khalil al-Hayya put it, the ball is in Israel’s court. The Israelis have responded warily. Initial reports in the Israeli media pushed the message that the deal Hamas had agreed to was not what Israel had been discussing. And far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir immediately took to social media to reject the deal, and call for the invasion of Rafah.

An Israeli official speaking to Reuters added that Hamas’s announcement appeared “to be a ruse intended to make Israel look like the side refusing a deal”.

Eventually, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the proposal agreed to by Hamas fell short of Israel’s demands, but that he would send a delegation to Cairo to meet negotiators.

He added that Israel’s war cabinet had agreed unanimously to “continue the operation in Rafah to exert military pressure on Hamas”, and on Monday night, intense Israeli air attacks took place in southern Gaza.

Meanwhile, family members of captives held in Gaza protested in Tel Aviv, calling for the government to accept a deal.

How have Palestinians in Gaza reacted?

Palestinians immediately took to the streets to celebrate across Gaza, as news filtered through that Hamas had agreed to a deal. For the enclave’s population a deal would spell the end of what has been a devastating war, in which the whole of Gaza has been decimated, and death has not spared any family.

However, some of that joy has been tempered by the reality that this is a deal that has only been agreed on by one side – Hamas.

And so, while many remain optimistic, Palestinians know that this isn’t the end of the war – particularly as Israel continues to rain down its bombs.

Has the United States commented on the ceasefire deal?

US officials at the White House and the State Department were repeatedly asked by journalists during press briefings about Hamas’s acceptance of the deal, as the media tried to understand what the American position on the news would be.

But both Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesperson, and John Kirby, the White House National Security spokesperson, refused to get into any details, with Miller saying Washington would “withhold judgement” until officials had time to fully review Hamas’s response.

Miller declined to say whether Hamas had agreed to a US-approved offer or to a different version of the proposal.

“As you know, [CIA] Director [William] Burns is in the region working on this in real time. We will be discussing this response with our partners over the coming hours,” he continued.

Meanwhile, Kirby said that President Joe Biden had been briefed on Hamas’s response, and added that talks were at a “critical stage”, remarking that he did not want to say anything that would jeopardise the prospects of reaching an agreement.