Hamas, the Palestinian group in control of Gaza, has decided not to join in the planned ceasefire negotiations happening in Qatar on Thursday. This decision, announced on Wednesday, has made the possibility of a truce less likely, a truce Iranian sources claim could preclude an Iranian attack on Israel. Despite this, the US retains hope for scheduled indirect dialogues in Doha, Qatar’s capital, maintaining that a ceasefire settlement remains within reach. However, a visit to the Middle East by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, initially planned to start on Tuesday, has been postponed according to Axios.
Three veteran Iranian officials indicated that a ceasefire deal brokered in Gaza would be the only way to prevent Iran from unleashing a direct counterstrike against Israel, following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil last month. Israel’s government has stated it will send representatives to the discussions on Thursday. Yet, Hamas, who governs Gaza, is asking for a practical scheme to put into action a plan they have already agreed to, rather than further negotiations.
The fighting in Gaza shows no signs of stopping. Citizens in Khan Younis, a southern city of Gaza, have reported that Israeli forces have destroyed housing in the east and increased tank shelling in eastern parts of the city centre. Israel has defended its actions, stating its moves were in response to Hamas’ rocket attacks aimed at Tel Aviv on Tuesday. It has reported attacking rocket launch stations and militants across 40 military sites within a 24-hour period, including in central Gaza, Khan Younis, and western Rafah in the south.
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed to have attacked Israeli forces at various locations. Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials have reported that Israeli strikes have so far resulted in at least 14 fatalities on Wednesday, primarily in the south and centre.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior officer at Hamas, informed Reuters that the group is ready to immediately deliberate on a method to act upon the proposal made to them in early July, which draws upon the UN Security Council resolution and President Biden’s speech. Opening up new negotiations risks allowing the occupiers to set new terms and utilise the complexities of negotiations to inflict further casualties, he added.
Hamas confirmed severe battles with Israeli forces in the Israeli-controlled West Bank, another Palestinian territory. Israel claimed these clashes led to the deaths of several militants. There are intense discussions concerning a ceasefire, intended to stop the hostilities in Gaza and facilitate the freedom of Israeli captives held within the strip. As a trade-off, a substantial number of Palestinians detained by Israel would be released. However, disagreements over the sequence of actions and other factors hinder the peace process.
Hamas’s chief demand is to reach a peace agreement and have Israeli troops exit Gaza before any hostages are freed. Conversely, Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, insists on a short truce just sufficient to bring back as many hostages, maintaining that fighting will only cease once Hamas is destroyed.
A deadly attack led by Hamas on Israeli provinces enclosing the Gaza Strip on October 7th resulted in around 1,200 fatalities and more than 250 individuals captured in Gaza, marking one of Israel’s biggest losses based on Israeli statistics.
In retaliation, Israel destroyed vast portions of Gaza, displaced most of its residents and, as reported by the Palestinian health department, caused approximately 40,000 casualties. This has triggered international outrage. Israel acknowledges a loss of over 300 soldiers while Hamas’s rocket attacks persist.
Last month, in an attempt to avert escalating tension between Iran-supported Hizbullah and Israel, following Israel’s assassination of a critical Hizbullah leader in Beirut’s southern outskirts, Joe Biden’s senior advisor, Amos Hochstein, flew to Beirut.
Hochstein is pegged for meetings with Lebanese interim Prime Minister, Najib Mikati and the head of the armed Amal movement, and parliament speaker, Nabih Berri. The Amal movement is a Hizbullah ally, and they too have launched rockets at Israel.
In a cabinet meeting speech on Wednesday, Mikati said that “the uncertainty of diplomatic chances requires preventing a war and halting Israel’s aggression”. Mikati underscored that the talks with Arab and Western leaders had heightened in light of Lebanon and the region’s critical situation, according to a Reuters report.