AFP on January 21 reported that Hamas security forces continued to operate in the Gaza Strip after reaching a ceasefire agreement with Israel. Hamas official Mahmud Abu Watfah inspected the armed police force, before they patrolled the bomb-ravaged streets of Gaza City. The above operation took place even though the Israeli leadership, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, repeatedly emphasized that the goal of the military campaign in Gaza is to eliminate the military and administrative capacity of Hamas.
Watch the heartbreaking moment when the released Israeli hostages reunite with their relatives
The dilemma
According to the sheet The Times of Israelafter National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Jewish Power party withdrew to protest the ceasefire, Netanyahu’s coalition had only 62/120 seats in parliament. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also threatened to resign if Israel did not return to fighting Hamas. Therefore, if he continues with the phase 2 agreement, Mr. Netanyahu will have to hope that Hamas will comply with the return of hostages, and it is unlikely that Hamas will take military or political power in Gaza.
People in the Gaza Strip move among a ruined area in Rafah on January 20
Another option is for Israel to resume the military campaign after 6 weeks of phase 1. This would endanger the remaining hostages and bring Israel back into the war with unknown consequences. This choice also makes Netanyahu face great pressure from the US when Washington and other intermediaries hope that the agreement will bring lasting peace and end the fighting in Gaza. However, Mr. Netanyahu now shows a different attitude. Speaking publicly for the first time after the agreement, the leader called it a “temporary ceasefire”, declaring that the US side “fully supports Israel’s right to return to fighting” if negotiations do not proceed. develop. He also rejected reducing the number of soldiers in the Philadelphia Corridor in Gaza in phase 1 as in the agreement.
Only Israeli-related ships remain as Houthi targets in the Red Sea
The negotiating party takes precautions
Meanwhile, the implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza on January 19 was delayed by 3 hours and the incident of Israeli soldiers opening fire on Palestinians approaching them a day later showed that many incidents could occur. As a precaution, two intermediary countries, Qatar and Egypt, have established a contact center to deal with the situation. Working at this center are officials who have participated in months of negotiations to prevent possible new clashes between Israel and Hamas, according to Reuters.
“Agreements like this are never easy to maintain. Any side can see a threat as a reason to violate the terms of the agreement. Then we will have to step in and find a way resume the ceasefire,” according to Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari. Observers say that with the extremely low level of trust between the two sides, which have been confronting each other for generations, many potential pitfalls range from accidental or intentional confrontations during the withdrawal period, to Disputes over the identity and status of the returned hostages are possible.
Hamas clarified the next release of hostages
Reuters yesterday quoted a Hamas announcement confirming that the next round of hostage returns would take place according to the agreement, after a force official previously said the plan could be a day later. According to the plan, Hamas returned 3 hostages on the first day of the agreement and proceeded in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Next, Hamas will release 4 hostages on Saturday and the remaining 26 hostages in the following weeks. In another development, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 915 trucks carrying aid entered Gaza on January 20, after the first batch of 630 the day before.
