Israel-Gaza: Cairo Hosts Hostage Deal Talks

0:00

/1861

1×

Facts

• As Israeli forces reportedly prepare to push into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, Egyptian, Qatari, Israeli, and US officials met in Cairo on Tuesday to discuss an extended pause in fighting and another exchange of Israeli hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners.¹
• The meeting comes a day after US Pres. Joe Biden said during a press conference with King Abdullah II of Jordan that the US will do 'everything possible' to get another hostage deal, indicating that such a deal would create the conditions for 'something more enduring.'²
• During a Sunday phone call between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden reportedly asked the Prime Minister to send an Israeli delegation to Cairo, with Netanyahu saying that Israel was ready for another hostage deal – even if it halted Israel's plans to enter Rafah – but not at any price, according to unnamed Israeli officials.²
• As the war progresses, Israel is facing increasing international criticism regarding its conduct in the war and settler violence in the West Bank. On Tuesday, France became the latest country following the US and UK to impose sanctions against several dozen Israeli settlers accused of violently targeting Palestinians.³
• Regarding tensions on the Lebanese border, an Israeli official denied that Israel had received a French proposal that would settle the status of disputed territory and see Hezbollah withdraw from the border, adding that 'there is no change in the northern theater.”⁴
• Gaza's health ministry reports that the conflict has killed over 28K people in Gaza, 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 Gaza).⁵

Sources: ¹NPR Online News, ²Axios, ³Guardian, ⁴The Times of Israel and ⁵Euronews.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CBS. The US is doing everything it can to both ensure that Israel can eliminate Hamas' military capabilities and prevent regional escalation. Israel must be able to defend itself from terrorist attacks, whether from Gaza or elsewhere, and the US will always support Israel in maintaining its security. However, Netanyahu is going too far with the war in Gaza, and he must be willing to follow through on his promises and compromise as needed so that another extended truce can take effect, which will hopefully lead to a more permanent resolution to this conflict.
• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. Though this has been a tragic war, Israel must eliminate Hamas once and for all to ensure Israel's security. To eliminate its capacity for terror, Israel has been forced to use blunt tools to rout Hamas forces, as they are so deeply dug into Gaza's civil infrastructure. Indeed, the recent rescue operation into Rafah proves that Israel's tactics are bearing fruit. Israel has worked hard to compromise and ensure the safety of civilians, but it will have to go into Rafah if an agreement is not reached soon.
• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Al Jazeera. Israel continues to demonstrate that its war is not against Hamas but against the Palestinian people as a whole. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is already far beyond catastrophic, as over 1M Palestinians barely survive in dense and muddy tent camps while battling famine and disease. If Israel were to push into Rafah as it did Gaza City and Khan Younis, the consequences would be absolutely dire.
• Narrative D, as provided by Al Mayadeen. Hezbollah and the regional resistance will only end their attacks when Israel's war in Gaza ends and it withdraws its forces. Indeed, the resistance's primary goal is to end the war in Gaza, not start a far larger regional war. Foreign powers believe they can dictate to Hezbollah how it deals with Israel's aggression and impose concessions regarding the status of Lebanon's southern border. However, Hezbollah has the leverage needed to ensure that Lebanon gains if any agreement is reached.