The 2023 Gaza-Israel Interaction and the Status of the Palestinian Dialogue and Security in the Middle East: Prospects for a Comprehensive Agreement

Hamas launched an attack against southern Israel from Gaza, killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Around 100 hostages were released in a similar deal between Israel and Hamas in late 2023, while others were rescued or found dead.

The renewed energy at the talks coincides with a surge in fighting on the ground. Since Saturday, at least 79 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gazan health authorities, while the Israeli military reported nine soldiers killed.

Many families of the remaining hostages who are not slated for release in the first phase worry that pressure to release their relatives will wane. They have been lobbying for a comprehensive agreement that ends the war and secures the release of all hostages.

33 Israeli hostages will be freed in exchange for a larger number of Palestinian prisoners in the first phase. It’s not clear how many are involved, since the group wants more detainees per each hostage freed alive, but has not said how many are still living. Israel thinks most of them are. The total number of Palestinians released from Israeli custody is expected to be around 1,000, according to a Palestinian official who was not authorized to speak to the media.

Large sections of the public in both Israel and Gaza are exhausted by the conflict and will welcome an agreement that promises a definitive end. However, some conservative members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have already expressed opposition to the deal on the grounds that Hamas should be completely eradicated to prevent a repeat of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, in which Hamas fighters and other militants killed around 1200 people and took more than 250 hostages.

After the first phase of the agreement is complete, there will be more negotiations about further withdrawals of Israeli troops from Gaza, although the official said a full withdrawal wouldn’t happen until all hostages are released.

The first exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners is likely to take place on the same day. The displaced Palestinians in the south of Gaza are talking about being allowed to return to their homes in the north.

The deal will likely be challenged in the Israeli Supreme Court even after it is signed. It could be days before the terms are implemented.

After several weeks of talks between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East, a deal is imminent. Representatives from both sides were in different rooms, as mediators from the U.S., Egypt and Qatar passed along messages.

He wouldn’t give details of the agreement. But an Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks, outlined some of the key provisions.

Majed Al Ansari, an advisor to the Qatari prime minister and Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told reporters in Doha, where the talks are being conducted, that an agreement was “not far away.” He added that the main obstacles have been overcome and the talks now are “about the final details.”

After more than fifteen months of fighting in their most devastating war ever, Israel and Hamas are extremely close to agreeing to a ceasefire, according to officials involved in the talks.

There’s been a truce announced in the Gaza Strip. Before we all celebrate, though, obviously we’re all going to want to see how well that executes,” Risch said.