Hamas is sending some people to Egypt to talk about stopping the fighting in Gaza. This is good news because it shows that different countries are working together to find a way to make peace between Israel and Hamas.
After many months of starting and stopping talks, it seems like the ceasefire efforts are at a very important point. Egyptian and American mediators say there are signs that both sides are starting to agree in the last few days. But it is not yet clear if Israel will agree to end the fighting without achieving its goal of destroying Hamas.
The new UN report shows that if the Israel-Hamas war ends now, it will take until 2040 to rebuild all the homes destroyed in Gaza by Israeli attacks. It said that the damage to the economy will make it hard for the country to grow for a long time, and it will get even worse if the fighting keeps going on.
The US and Egyptian mediators have suggested a plan to Hamas, which Israel seems to agree with. The plan has three steps: first, a six-week ceasefire and the release of some Israeli hostages. Then, negotiations for a long-term peace agreement, which might involve Israel pulling out of Gaza. An Egyptian official shared this information. Hamas wants to make sure that Israel will completely pull out of their territory and that the war will stop completely.
Hamas leaders have been giving different messages about the plan in the last few days. However, on Thursday, the top leader of the group, Ismail Haniyeh, said in a statement that he talked to Egypt’s intelligence chief and emphasized that they are looking at the ceasefire proposal in a positive way.
Hamas is going to Cairo to finish talking about making a deal. Haniyeh also spoke to the prime minister of Qatar.
The brokers are optimistic that the agreement will stop a conflict that has hurt many Palestinians, destroyed a lot, and caused big problems for people in the area. They also hope that an agreement will stop Israel from attacking Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have taken refuge after leaving other areas where there is fighting.
If Israel decides to stop fighting in exchange for all the hostages being released, it would be a big change. After Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, Israel’s leaders said they will keep attacking and sending troops until they get rid of the militant group. They also say that Israel needs to have soldiers in Gaza and control security after the war to make sure that Hamas doesn’t build again.
In public, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps saying that this is the only way things should end.
He promised that even if there is a pause in fighting, Israel will still attack Rafah, which he believes is the last place where Hamas is strong in Gaza. He said again that he is determined to do it during his talks on Wednesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Blinken was in Israel to try to make the deal happen.
The fate of the agreement depends on whether Hamas will agree to wait and see what happens after the initial six-week break in fighting. This would at least delay a feared attack on Rafah.
Egypt has been telling Hamas privately that the agreement will bring a complete end to the war. The Egyptian official said that Hamas thinks the text is not clear enough and wants it to say that Israel must completely leave all of Gaza. The official talked about the discussions happening inside, but didn’t want to give their name.
Wednesday evening, the news didn’t seem as good. A leader of Hamas, Osama Hamdan, said he wasn’t sure. He told Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV that they are still talking, but will stop if Israel invades Rafah.
Blinken pushed Hamas to agree and said Israel had made big concessions.
“We can’t argue or negotiate any more. Time is running out. ” “The agreement is in place,” Blinken said on Wednesday before he left for the US.
An Israeli attack from the air killed at least five people, including a child, in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The Associated Press journalists saw and counted the bodies at a hospital.
The war started on October 7th. Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, and took about 250 others as hostages. Some were released during a ceasefire in November.
The Israel-Hamas war started when militants attacked southern Israel on Oct 7, killing about 1,200 civilians and taking about 250 people hostage. Hamas still has about 100 people as hostages and the bodies of more than 30 others.
Israel’s attack in Gaza caused a lot of damage and a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza are at risk of not having enough food to eat, as reported by the UN. Over 80% of people have been forced to leave their houses.
The report says that the economy is in bad shape and many Palestinians are becoming poor.
It was reported that by 2024, the economy of Palestine, which includes Gaza and the West Bank, has decreased by 25. 8% If the war keeps going, the loss will be a very high 29 percent by July, it said. Israel’s decision to revoke work permits for the West Bank has negatively affected the economy there.
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