March 4th 2025.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar discussed the current state of the ceasefire deal that went into effect in January. According to Sa'ar, Israel is not satisfied with the progress made so far and has some demands that need to be met before moving on to the next phase.
Sa'ar made it clear that Israel is seeking the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and the removal of Hamas from power. He emphasized the need for Hamas and Islamic Jihad to be completely removed from Gaza and for Israel's hostages to be released. Sa'ar stated that if these demands are met, the next phase of the ceasefire deal can be implemented as soon as tomorrow.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, also weighed in on the situation, stating that the decision to block humanitarian aid to Gaza was a tactic to pressure Hamas into accepting a new proposal. This proposal, put forth by US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, would extend the first phase of the ceasefire and also secure the release of Israeli hostages.
However, Hamas has made it clear that they will only release the hostages through a prisoner exchange deal. Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi has stated that Netanyahu is delusional if he thinks he can achieve his goals through the starvation war imposed on Gaza. Mardawi also reaffirmed Hamas' refusal to extend the first phase of the agreement and called on mediators to ensure Israel adhered to the terms of the agreement as originally signed.
The first phase of the agreement, which included increased humanitarian aid, expired on Saturday. Under the agreement, both sides were supposed to negotiate a second phase where Hamas would release remaining hostages in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal and a permanent ceasefire. However, Israel presented a new proposal to extend the first phase for an additional 42 days until after the Muslim and Jewish holidays.
Hamas rejected this proposal, calling it unacceptable. In response, Netanyahu announced on Sunday that Israel would prevent any goods and supplies from entering Gaza in order to pressure Hamas into accepting the extension proposal. It remains to be seen how this situation will be resolved, but both sides are standing firm on their demands.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
