Israel has agreed in hostage negotiations in Egypt to concessions about the return of Palestinians to the north of Gaza, but believes Hamas does not want to strike a deal, Israeli officials said on Wednesday.
Two officials with knowledge of the talks said that under a US proposal for a truce, Israel would allow the return of 150,000 Palestinians to north Gaza with no security checks.
In return, they said, Hamas would be required to give a list of female, elderly and sick hostages it still holds alive.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s office declined to comment. Hamas said on Tuesday that the latest proposal passed on by Eqyptian and Qatari mediators did not meet demands, but that it would study it further before responding.
Israel’s assessment is that Hamas does not want to strike a deal yet, the two Israeli officials said.
Netanyahu says IDF still set to go into Rafah
In the seventh month of the war, Hamas wants an end to the Israeli military offensive, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and permission for displaced Palestinians to return home.
Israel pulled back most ground forces from southern Gaza this week after months of fighting, but still says it plans to launch an assault on Rafah, on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, where more than half of Gazans are now sheltering.
Netanyahu has said civilians will be evacuated from Rafah before Israeli forces pursue Hamas’ remaining battalions there, but that pledge has done little to calm international alarm.
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