Latest Egyptian Ceasefire Proposal Leaves Out Gaza's Postwar Governance

Facts

• An Egyptian-mediated Gaza ceasefire deal is reportedly making headway. The current proposal stipulates that, first, hostilities would end for 10 days, Hamas would exchange all civilian hostages for a number of Palestinian prisoners, Israeli forces would withdraw from residential areas, and Palestinians would be allowed freedom of north-south movement. Humanitarian aid would also be given access to the entire strip.¹
• The second phase would see all female Israeli soldiers released for more Palestinian prisoners, as well as the transfer of all bodies held by both sides. A final phase would see all Israeli male conscripts exchanged for Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces would withdraw fully, the air campaign would end, and Hamas would cease all military activities against Israel. An earlier proposal called for a new governing body to oversee both the West Bank and Gaza, but this was dropped.¹
• US Pres. Joe Biden on Tuesday spoke with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani about the “urgent effort to secure” the release of the remaining hostages and efforts to “facilitate increased and sustained flows of life-saving access to humanitarian aid to Gaza.' Both Qatar and Egypt have worked closely with the US to mediate between Israel and Hamas. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu hasn't commented on the Egyptian proposal.²
• Netanyahu has been reluctant to comment or discuss Israel's postwar plans for Gaza. Israeli media reported that his office had declined to discuss 'the day after' with the Mossad, the Shin Bet, and the Israeli military. Palestinian Pres. Mahmoud Abbas said on Tuesday that the war was “beyond a catastrophe,” accusing Netanyahu of planning “to get rid of the Palestinians.”³
• In Gaza, fighting has continued to intensify, as Israeli forces have begun ground operations against areas between Gaza City and Khan Younis, in particular a cluster of Palestinian refugee camps in the center of the strip. Residents of the al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza reported heavy bombing on Wednesday, with additional reports of bombing in Khan Younis and Rafah on the Egyptian border. Some 85% of Gaza's population of 2.3M have been displaced.⁴
• Gaza's health ministry reports that the conflict has killed over 21K people in the Gaza Strip, the majority of whom were women and children. The official Israeli death toll stands at 1.2K people and there are still over 100 hostages being held in Gaza.⁵

Sources: ¹NPR Online News, ²The Hill, ³Guardian, ⁴CBS and ⁵Associated Press.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CNN. Though, of course, Israel has a right to dismantle Hamas' military capabilities, it must wage this war in a humane way. The amount of civilians being killed will only galvanize Palestinians against peace and push them into the arms of Hamas. A more thorough and surgical campaign is now needed to eliminate Hamas' leadership in Gaza, as Israel is losing global support.
• Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. Though this has been a tragic war, Israel cannot allow Hamas to survive. Though it seems that the Biden admin. wants to pressure Israel into a ceasefire, Israel must push back against such short-sighted thinking. Israel is a sovereign country and has the right to defend itself from terrorism and pursue its own interests. Hamas' military capabilities must be eliminated so that the group can never launch a terrorist attack like Oct. 7 again.
• Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. Israel continues to demonstrate that its war is not against Hamas but against the Palestinian people as a whole. Nowhere in Gaza is safe, and Israel has effectively rendered the north of the strip unlivable. Israel is killing Palestinians at an unprecedented rate and clearly wants to make the Gaza Strip unlivable. Though the US, Israel's biggest ally, wants to minimize the war's intensity, it must instead exert more pressure to end the war completely.