On Tuesday, the Security Cabinet will convene, with some ministers expected to demand an intensification of Israel’s operations in Gaza.
At this point, Israel controls 30–40% of the Gaza Strip. The war against Hamas continues with intensity, but so far, the focus has been on pressuring Hamas to soften its demands for a hostage deal.
And that strategy has worked – partially.
On the one hand, Hamas is now willing to release nine or 10 hostages, compared to just the one they released at the end of the previous deal.
On the other hand, Hamas is still demanding a complete end to the war, along with guarantees to that effect. Only then, it says, would it agree to a comprehensive deal that includes the release of all the hostages – not a partial agreement, but a full one.
It’s important to understand what Hamas means by “guarantees.”
Hamas observed the guarantees given to Hezbollah under a previous agreement and saw that Israel still acts as it wishes in Lebanon. That’s why, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it, “Hamas is demanding binding guarantees” – from the United States and other UN Security Council member states – that what happened in Lebanon won’t be repeated in Gaza after the war ends.
How can Israel respond?
Israel refuses to provide such guarantees, especially under the conditions Hamas demands.
Israeli officials stress that the Israel-Hamas War can only end if Gaza is fully demilitarized, and that Hamas is neither a legitimate military nor civilian authority. Given this stance, the gap between the two sides appears unbridgeable.
Netanyahu said on Saturday that if these are Hamas’s conditions, then the only possible deal from Israel’s perspective would be a limited one, involving the release of some of the hostages.
Hamas, however, has made it clear it will not accept such a deal. So, while Israel continues to crush Hamas militarily, a surrender – leading to a comprehensive deal – by the terror organization doesn’t appear on the horizon.
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