Cease-Fire Negotiations Restart Amidst Tensions - Netanyahu Greenlights Strategic Rafah Mission

 Israel and Hamas are set to resume cease-fire negotiations in Qatar, reportedly as soon as Sunday, after efforts to establish a cease-fire before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan fell short last week, and after Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu approved a controversial offensive in the Gaza town of Rafah.

Israel and Hamas are reportedly set to resume negotiations in Qatar to discuss the latest cease-fire proposal from Hamas as early as Sunday, according to the Associated Press and Reuters—though Egyptian officials told The Associated Press that it was possible the talks could get pushed to Monday.

The talks will reportedly include the director of Israel’s intelligence unit Mossad, David Barnea, as well as Qatar’s prime minister and Egyptian moderators.

In its latest proposal, Hamas reportedly offered to release Israeli hostages in exchange for freedom for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and suggests setting a date for a permanent cease-fire and eventual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza after the exchange of prisoners, according to Reuters, which saw the proposal.

Hamas official Basem Naim told CNN that the proposal still calls for a withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza.

But Israel, which has thus far rejected any calls for a permanent cease-fire, dismissed the proposal, saying Hamas had “unrealistic demands”—Israel has thus far refused to agree to any permanent cease-fire.

In a statement to multiple media outlets Friday, Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the prime minister had “approved the plans” for a controversial invasion of the Gazan town of Rafah and was “preparing for the operational side and for the evacuation of the population,” while dismissing Hamas’ demands as “ridiculous” even as it confirmed an Israeli delegation was leaving to discuss the proposal in Qatar.

Netanyahu has said that an attack in Rafah was necessary for Israel to complete its mission of eliminating Hamas, arguing that Rafah contains Hamas’ remaining battalions. But world leaders, including President Joe Biden, have urged against an offensive in Rafah due to humanitarian concerns. The town has become a gathering point for many Gazans displaced by the Israel-Hamas war. The town’s population has ballooned from around 280,000 to roughly 1.5 million. U.N. officials and world leaders have feared that military operations in Rafah could lead to humanitarian disaster. But the Israeli plan for the assault involves evacuating a significant portion of the 1.5 million civilians there to “humanitarian islands”

“I think it reflects the sense both of possibility and of urgency to get an agreement, to get a cease-fire, to get the hostages back, to get even more humanitarian assistance in,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday of Israel’s willingness to send a negotiating team to Qatar, even as Israel has publicly dismissed Hamas’ proposal.

Biden had been hopeful that a cease-fire agreement could be reached before the holy month of Ramadan, but those talks fell through last week, with the two sides reportedly held up over the prospect of a permanent cease-fire, among other things. Ramadan started March 10, kicking off somber celebrations in Gaza amid the ongoing war. Israel began its war against Hamas after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking hundreds hostage. Since then, concern for humanitarian access and civilian safety has mounted across the world, with more than 31,000 Gazan civilians reportedly killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.