Hamas to Consider Proposal for Hostage Release Deal

Facts

• Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh announced on Tuesday that the group would consider a proposal — arranged by Egypt, Qatar, the US, and Israel on Sunday during talks in Paris — to exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners and potentially pause the fighting for weeks, saying that the group remains committed to ending the war and securing the withdrawal of Israeli forces.¹
• However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated on Tuesday that the war wouldn't end until Hamas is eliminated, stating that Israel wouldn't withdraw its troops from Gaza or free thousands of Palestinian prisoners.²
• As intense fighting in and around Khan Younis in the south of the strip continues, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday that Israeli forces will control Gaza after the war's end, pointing to Israel's ability to readily carry out raids in the West Bank even though it doesn't 'control the area in a civilian sense.'³
• Meanwhile, The Guardian, citing aid officials, Gaza residents, analysts, and Israeli officials, claimed on Tuesday that Hamas operatives have regrouped in northern Gaza in an effort to re-establish the group's governance and launch attacks against Israeli forces, casting doubt on Israeli claims that it had neutralized Hamas's capabilities in the area.⁴
• Generating controversy on Tuesday, Israeli forces killed three members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad during an undercover raid into Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin in the West Bank disguised as medical staff and civilians. Israel said the men were 'hiding' in the hospital. However, Hamas said that at least one of the men was at the hospital for treatment.⁵
• Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry reports that the conflict has killed over 26K people in the Gaza Strip, the majority of whom were women and children. The war has also created a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation. The official Israeli death toll on Oct. 7 stands at around 1.2K people (and there are still over 100 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip).⁶

Sources: ¹Guardian (a), ²Reuters, ³The Times of Israel, ⁴Guardian (b), ⁵Al Jazeera and ⁶Associated Press.

Narratives

• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by The Nation. Israel is losing its war in Gaza. After over three months and 26K dead Palestinians, Israel has failed to release hostages via military operations, to kill Hamas's top leaders, or to create conditions advantageous to ending this long drawn-out conflict. Even then, if Israel did manage to achieve the majority of its war goals, it still would be left without a clear plan of action for the day after the war. Destroying a group like Hamas is a fool's errand, and Netanyahu has dug Israel into a hole that it will have a tough time climbing out of. Israel should accept a comprehensive ceasefire.
• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by The Daily Beast. Though, of course, this war has not been easy, Israel has made steady progress in Gaza, first neutralizing Gaza City before moving on to other population centers like Khan Younis. Israel has substantially degraded Hamas's military capabilities and leadership and even partially degraded elite Hezbollah units stationed along Israel's northern border. Indeed, as Israel's enemies should recognize, Israel's raw military power should not even be up for debate, and the country will fight and negotiate as it sees fit to achieve its goals.