30-4-2024 (RIYADH) In an urgent appeal amidst the raging Gaza war, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken exhorted Palestinian militant group Hamas to promptly accept what he termed an “extraordinarily generous” ceasefire proposal tabled by Israel. The overture also includes provisions for the release of Israeli hostages held captive by Hamas in the embattled strip.
Mediators from Qatar and Egypt are anticipated to convene with Hamas negotiators in Cairo on 29 April to receive the group’s response to the phased truce package presented by the Israeli government over the weekend.
“Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel,” Blinken emphasised at the World Economic Forum gathering in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh. “The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide and they have to decide quickly. I’m hopeful that they will make the right decision.”
A source privy to the negotiations disclosed that Israel’s initial offer entails swapping fewer than 40 of the roughly 130 hostages believed held in Gaza for the release of Palestinian prisoners jailed in Israel. A subsequent phase would then introduce a “period of sustained calm” — Israel’s compromise in response to Hamas’s demand for a permanent ceasefire.
According to Israeli tallies, the devastating conflict erupted on 7 October when Hamas forces launched an assault on southern Israel, seizing 253 hostages while killing approximately 1,200 Israelis. Retaliatory strikes have since killed an estimated 34,500 Palestinians in Gaza and inflicted a dire humanitarian crisis with severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine.
While a French diplomatic official indicated convergence on hostage release numbers, obstacles remain regarding the longer-term nature of any truce. “We’re not far off from a deal, but that’s not the first time,” the source cautioned.
At the Riyadh summit, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron echoed Blinken’s characterisation of the Israeli proposal as “generous”, comprising a 40-day pause in fighting, the potential release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners, and the freeing of Israeli captives. “I hope Hamas do take this deal and frankly, all the pressure in the world and all the eyes in the world should be on them today saying ‘take that deal’,” Cameron urged.
The US, Israel’s key military ally, has insisted it cannot endorse a ground offensive on Gaza’s Rafah area — where over a million displaced residents have taken refuge — without assurances civilians will be spared. Blinken affirmed Washington’s intensive collaboration with Saudi Arabia towards formalising Israeli-Saudi ties but stressed this hinged on “calm in Gaza and a credible pathway to a Palestinian state” — a contentious issue given Israeli rejections of Palestinian statehood.
