Hamas asks to return to discussion of the "three-phase ceasefire" proposal

While Iran's response becomes more imminent, Hamas says enough to new proposals for negotiations with Israel and calls for a return to the three-phase ceasefire.

• Hamas refuses to sit with Israel at the table scheduled for Thursday 15 August.
• The Palestinian movement is calling for a return to discussing the three-stage ceasefire, instead of making new proposals.
• Meanwhile, Iran's attack on Israel becomes more imminent.

After the news of an initial position favorable to the ceasefire agreement by the new political leader of Hamas Yahya Sinwar – who took over as leader of the movement after the killing of Ismail Haniyeh by the Israeli army –, the Islamist movement announced that he would not participate in the resumption of negotiations on the ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages, mediated by officials from the United States, Egypt and Qatar, scheduled for Thursday 15 August.The American newspaper reported it Axios, after another American newspaper, the CNN, had spoken of an initial opening on the part of Hamas.

This does not mean that a negotiation is not possible: Hamas says it is ready to return to the three-phase peace plan presented in May and then again in July by President Joe Biden, “rather than conduct further negotiations or present new proposals.”This is what we read in a note relaunched by the broadcaster Al Jazeera, which recalls that the movement has always said it is in favor of that road map.In this regard, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have issued a joint appeal to say no to "further postponements" to the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza “is still possible”, he stated Biden in an interview with CBS, “the plan that I put together, approved by the G7 and the United Nations Security Council, is still feasible.I am working literally every single day with my entire team to make this happen and to avoid escalation into a regional war."For this reason, there are those who say that "proximity talks" will be held on August 15th, in which the two teams sit in adjacent rooms, with a mediator going back and forth between the delegations at a rapid pace.But it still remains to be seen whether Hamas will take part.

What does Netanyahu want?

Nobody knows what Bibi wants, say Israeli sources close to the government.In short, whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants an agreement with Hamas is a question that remains shrouded in uncertainty.Sources reported by CNN they say he's ready to do it, regardless of the impact of this decision on his governing coalition.But the same American newspaper underlines how the Israeli security establishment is much more skeptical about Israel's willingness to find an agreement, given the fierce opposition of the ministers of far right.

In fact, after Netanyahu's affirmative response to the request of the USA, Egypt and Qatar to sit at a negotiating table, the far-right leader Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X that the transfer of humanitarian aid and fuel to Gaza “must be prevented until the hostages are released,” therefore encouraged the permanent occupation of Gaza.Last week, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said it "may be justified and moral" to let Israel "starve two million civilians" until the "hostages are returned."After these words, the High Representative of the European Union's foreign policy, Josep Borrell, explicitly asked to sanction the two members of the Israeli government.

Iran's attack becomes more imminent

While an attack by Iran on Israel could take place in these days - according to intelligence sources it is not unlikely that Iran and its allies will choose the day of the anniversary of the "Destruction of the Temple", which falls between 12 and 13 August, to respond to the assassination of the head of the Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh –, the Israeli army (IDF) continues to concentrate its violence on the Gaza Strip:after bombing a school and a mosque where hundreds of displaced people were taking refuge - the attack killed 93 Palestinian civilians -, Israel now announces yet another evacuation of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, forcing tens of thousands of Palestinian residents and displaced families to move.According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, At least 39,897 Palestinians died and 92,152 were injured.