9/28/2024–|Last updated: 9/28/202409:38 PM (Mecca time)
US President Joe Biden confirmed on Saturday that his administration is seeking to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip and release Israeli detainees there.
He said – in the wake of the assassination of the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut – that “the time has come to reach ceasefire agreements, remove the threats facing Israel, and achieve stability.”
In turn, the families of Israeli prisoners in Gaza sent an appeal to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding that it “exploit the new situation in the north to end the war in the south in exchange for an exchange deal.”
Israeli Channel 12 reported that protesters closed a main street in central Tel Aviv to demand a prisoner exchange deal with the Palestinian factions.
Basem Naim, a member of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), had previously denied what Israeli media reported about the movement’s approval of a proposal to release all its Israeli prisoners within 3 weeks in exchange for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from Gaza.
Naim added – in statements to Tel Aviv Tribune Net – that Gershon Baskin, who adopted this agreement, is no longer connected to the government system and security services in Israel, and that his role is limited only to the fact that some families of prisoners seek help from him in order to contribute to reaching an agreement to release their children, after Its conviction that Netanyahu is obstructing reaching any deal.
Israeli media reported yesterday, Friday, that Baskin submitted correspondence between him and a senior Hamas official stating that talks took place last Tuesday with the movement agreeing to a proposal to release all Israeli prisoners within just 3 weeks, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza. Ensuring a ceasefire for 5 years without any military activity.
It is noteworthy that the rounds of indirect negotiations between Tel Aviv and Hamas have been faltering for more than 10 months, as a result of Netanyahu’s insistence on continuing the war on the Gaza Strip, and his adherence to the Philadelphia and Netzarim axes in the south and center of the Gaza Strip, while Hamas demands a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the return of the displaced without restrictions.
Despite Israeli obstacles, Egypt’s mediation continues alongside Qatar and the United States to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and conclude a prisoner exchange between the two parties.