Israel Open to Gaza Truce Despite Lebanon Tension

Latest Developments​

Israel will pursue negotiations over sticking points in a Gaza truce proposal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on July 28.

The announcement came as Netanyahu held high-level consultations over the appropriate response to the July 27 Hezbollah rocket attack on the Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams, in which 12 children playing on a soccer field were killed.

Mossad director David Barnea was dispatched to Rome for talks with his CIA counterpart, William Burns, as well as Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel. The discussions focused on the proposal for a ceasefire with Hamas that has been circulating since May.

Qatar and Egypt are mediating between Israel and the Iranian-backed terrorist organization.

At the Rome meeting, which lasted several hours before Barnea flew back to brief Netanyahu, “the sides discussed the document with the clarifications regarding the draft agreement,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. “The negotiations on the main issues will continue in the coming days.”

Expert Analysis​

“Hamas may well worry that should Lebanon erupt into all-out war, its leverage in the hostage talks will wane as Israel’s attention shifts northward. The patience of Hamas’s Qatari sponsors and Egyptian interlocutors may also be wearing thin. It appears that the standoff with Hezbollah may in fact prod the Palestinian terrorist group into truce terms more advantageous to Israel.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“Recent Israeli military achievements in the Philadelphi Corridor, along with the probable elimination of Mohammed Deif and other high-ranking commanders, have granted the IDF considerable leverage, enhancing its position at the negotiating table. Despite the continuing conflict with Hezbollah in the north, Israel is signaling its willingness to pursue a truce aimed at achieving another critical objective set at the beginning of the war: the return of all hostages held by Hamas and its allies in Gaza.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal 

Gaps Remain Between Israel and Hamas

Issues still in dispute at the negotiations include Israel’s insistence on keeping its forces along the Gaza-Egypt border even after a truce. Another dispute has centered on the challenge of preventing Hamas terrorists from re-establishing themselves in northern Gaza should civilians evacuated from their homes by the fighting be permitted to return.

Hamas has offered between 12 and 18 living hostages — a small fraction of the 115 still held captive in Gaza — as part of the first phase of the proposed truce. Israel wants the number raised to at least 30.

Related Analysis

“Hamas Rejects Proposed Israeli Changes to Ceasefire Deal,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Recovers Bodies of Five Hostages in Gaza,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israeli Airstrike Kills Hamas, Fatah Commanders in Tulkarem,” FDD Flash Brief