Negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement to exchange prisoners and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip will resume today, Wednesday, in Cairo, in the presence of all parties concerned, amid American optimism about the possibility of concluding an agreement, while Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich criticized Tel Aviv’s participation in the negotiations, and considered this to be submission to the Islamic Resistance Movement ( agitation) .
The Egyptian Cairo News Channel quoted an unnamed senior source as saying, “The truce negotiations will resume today in Cairo in the presence of delegations from Hamas and Israel, in addition to mediators from Qatar and the United States.”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich criticized Israel’s sending a negotiating delegation to Cairo to participate in the negotiations, and considered sending an Israeli delegation to Cairo a mistake and tantamount to falling into what he called the Hamas trap.
Yesterday, Tuesday, Israeli Army Radio confirmed the arrival of the Israeli negotiating delegation to Egypt to continue the discussions, while CIA Director William Burns will head to Israel today, Wednesday, from Cairo to discuss the exchange deal.
Reuters quoted an informed source that Burns will hold talks in Israel with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.
American optimism
An American official confirmed that the mediators in Cairo are trying to resolve various disputes regarding the ceasefire agreement and the prisoner and detainee exchange deal. The official – who spoke to the American NBC network without revealing his identity – considered that the continuation of the negotiation “is considered a positive thing,” but stressed that “It is too early to be optimistic.”
For his part, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told Tel Aviv Tribune that Hamas presented additional demands in its response to the hostage deal proposal, and this happens in the negotiations.
He explained that the United States has assured all parties that it wants to see an agreement concluded as soon as possible. He said that Washington informed the Israeli government that the agreement is possible and that all parties must make every effort to conclude it.
In turn, White House Strategic Communications Advisor John Kirby said that the White House is optimistic about the possibility of narrowing the gaps between Hamas and Israel, and added that the Israelis are negotiating in good faith.
Kirby stressed that the gaps in the amended formula approved by Hamas could be filled, but he stressed that he could not predict the time frame for reaching a final agreement, and he expressed his hope that this would happen soon.
Hamas warns
The Hamas movement had warned Israel that the current Cairo negotiations would be “the last chance,” and a Hamas official – who preferred to remain anonymous – said, “This is the last chance for Netanyahu and the families of the Zionist prisoners to return their sons, or their fate will be the same as the pilot Ron Arad,” who was shot down. His plane over Lebanon in 1986, and his fate remains unknown.
On a related level, Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said – during a press conference – that the movement’s delegation went to Cairo to confirm the continuation of the political process to bind Israel to the agreement and its implementation, stressing that “the ball is now in the court of Netanyahu and the pillars of his extremist government.”
Hamdan added, “Our approval of the mediators’ proposal in exchange for the Netanyahu government’s maneuver puts the American administration in front of a clear entitlement,” stressing that the American administration must “prove its seriousness and credibility in binding Netanyahu to the agreement.”
Gallant threatens to escalate
On the other hand, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant warned on Tuesday that Israel is ready to escalate its operations in Gaza if the talks fail to secure the release of detainees in the Strip.
Gallant said in a statement after a tour he made in Rafah after the start of the Israeli ground invasion of the city of Rafah, south of Gaza, at dawn on Tuesday that Israel “will make concessions” to recover the detainees.
He added, “But if this option is not available, we will move towards deepening the process, and this will happen in all parts of the Gaza Strip, in the south, in the center, and in the north.”
In turn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the proposal that Hamas announced its approval the day before yesterday, Monday, is far from the basic demands of Israel.
Netanyahu stressed that Israel will not allow Hamas to rebuild its military capabilities or restore rule in the Gaza Strip.
Protests of prisoners’ families
In a related context, on Wednesday, family members of Israeli prisoners detained by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza closed the main Ayalon highway in central Tel Aviv, to demand the conclusion of a deal to exchange their relatives with Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
The official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said that members of the families of prisoners in Gaza closed for a period of time Ayalon Street, which connects the city of Tel Aviv with the surrounding cities and towns in the greater Tel Aviv area.
Earlier today, the families of the prisoners detained in Gaza called on the United States and other countries, whose citizens are detained by Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza, to pressure Israel to conclude an agreement with Hamas to guarantee their return.
The Forum for Families of Hostages and Missing Persons said that, in light of indications of progress in the discussions between the two parties, “we appeal to a number of countries to exercise their influence on the Israeli government” and put pressure to conclude the agreement.