In talks in Egypt on a ceasefire in the war in Gaza, Israel agreed to concessions on the return of Palestinians to the north of the enclave, but believes the Islamist group Hamas does not want to reach a deal, Israeli officials said on Wednesday. (10).
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 northern Gaza without security checks.
In exchange, they said, Hamas would have to provide a list of female, elderly and sick hostages it still keeps alive.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office declined to comment. Hamas said on Tuesday that the latest proposal approved by Egyptian and Qatari mediators did not meet its demands, but that it would study it further before responding.
Israel's assessment is that Hamas does not yet want to reach an agreement, the two Israeli officials said.
In the seventh month of the war, Hamas wants an end to the Israeli military offensive, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and permission for displaced Palestinians to return home.
Israel's immediate objective is to secure the release of hostages captured by Hamas in its October 7 cross-border attack.
The country says it will not end the war until Hamas no longer controls Gaza or threatens Israel militarily.
More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the Israeli offensive, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, with most of the 2.3 million inhabitants displaced and much of the enclave devastated.
Israel withdrew most of its ground forces from southern Gaza this week after months of fighting, but still says it plans to launch an attack on Rafah, on the enclave's southern border with Egypt, where more than half of Gaza's residents are sheltering. .
Netanyahu has said civilians will be evacuated from Rafah before Israeli forces pursue remaining Hamas militants there, but that promise has done little to calm international alarm.
The war began when Hamas led an attack on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 were taken hostage. Around 130 are still being held in Gaza, according to Israel.
Source: CNN Brasil
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