🔗 Share this article

The militant group's conditional endorsement toward the US president's Gaza ceasefire deal on Friday was welcomed internationally representing the closest the two warring sides have come over the past 24 months toward stopping the war within the Gaza Strip.

How Close Are We to an Agreement?

The Palestinian faction's qualified support of the US proposal marks the nearest mediators have got in recent months to a comprehensive conclusion to the war in Gaza. However, they remain distant from an agreement.

The US president's twenty-point initiative to stop the conflict requires that the group release every captive in three days, give up control to a cross-border council chaired by Donald Trump, and disarm. As compensation, Israeli forces would gradually withdraw its soldiers from Gaza and release more than one thousand Palestinian prisoners.

The proposal will also mean a surge of relief supplies to Gaza, some areas of which are undergoing food shortages, and reconstruction funds to the region, which has been nearly completely destroyed.

Hamas only agreed to three points: the freeing of all hostages, the handing over of control and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. Hamas declared the rest of the deal must be discussed alongside additional Palestinian factions, since it forms part of a joint national approach.

Effectively, this means the group seeks more discussions regarding the more difficult aspects of the US plan, specifically the request for its disarmament, and a solid schedule regarding Israeli troop pullout.

Where and When Will Negotiations Take Place?

Representatives have traveled to the Egyptian capital to finalize details to narrow the gap between Israel and Hamas.

Negotiations begin on Monday and it is anticipated to produce conclusions within a few days, be they successful or not.

Trump shared a picture of a chart of Gaza on Saturday night that showed the line to which Israeli forces ought to pull back stating that if the group consents to it, that the ceasefire would begin right away. The US president is eager to end the war as it approaches to its two year mark and prior to the Nobel prize committee declares the recipient of the peace prize on 10 October, which is a frequently mentioned obsession for him.

Benjamin Netanyahu said a deal to bring Israeli captives home should preferably happen soon.

What Gaps Remain?

The two sides have hedged their positions heading into negotiations.

The group has repeatedly declined to give up its arms in past negotiations. It has provided no indication on if its stance has changed on this, despite it principally agrees to the US proposal, with qualifications. Trump and Israel have made it clear that there exists little wiggle room regarding the disarmament demand and are resolved to pin Hamas down through firm wording in any plan going forward.

Hamas also said it accepted handing over authority in Gaza to an expert-led governing force, as specified in the US proposal. But, in a statement, Hamas clarified it would accept a Palestinian technocratic governing body, not the international body that Trump laid out in its plan.

The Israeli government has also tried to maintain the matter regarding its military pullout ambiguous. Only a few hours after announcing Trump’s plan in a joint press conference in Washington recently, the prime minister released a video reassuring Israelis that soldiers would remain in most of Gaza.

On Saturday night, Netanyahu again repeated that troops would stay in Gaza, stating that captives would be released as the Israel Defense Forces would stay within Gaza's interior.

The prime minister's stance seemingly stands against the stipulation in Trump’s plan that Israeli troops completely pull out from Gaza. Hamas will demand reassurances that Israel will completely leave and that should Hamas surrenders its arms, Israeli forces will not return to the strip.

Mediators will have to bridge these differences, obtaining firm, unambiguous terms on disarmament from the group. They will also have to show to Hamas that Israel will truly pull out from Gaza and that there will be international guarantees that will compel Israel to comply with the conditions of the deal.

The differences might be resolved, and the United States will certainly pressure both parties to achieve an agreement. However, the talks have come near to an agreement before suddenly collapsing multiple times in the past two years, leaving both parties cautious of celebrating prior to a formal agreement.