A bomb blast in Gaza. BBC/Reuters.
A new cease fire plan has been proposed to end the war between Israel and Hamas. BBC. The plan was proposed by Qatari and Egyptian mediators and would propose an actual formal end to the war. A five or seven year truce would be included and Israel would withdraw and release prisoners while Hamas released all remaining hostages and bodies held. The proposal comes after Israel's last proposal, that required disarmament, was rejected. It is unclear if the proposal will be accepted by both sides of the conflict, though Hamas has supposedly shown "flexibility" when it comes to ending the war.
My Comment:
Another slow news day, which means I have to talk about the Israel-Hamas conflict yet again. I could have wrote about the Pope's death, but I didn't have much to say about that. And this story could be important.
Could is the key word there. I am doubtful that either side will accept this deal. Israel probably wants Hamas to disarm, which is impossible. That was the sticking point in the last peace proposal and Hamas rejected it.
Hamas could reject it because if they release their remaining hostages they no longer have any leverage over Israel whatsoever. Getting their prisoners back would be a good thing for them, but they have been extremely reluctant to give up those hostages.
But I also think that both sides should really consider ending the war. Obviously Hamas has largely been defeated militarily and continuing the fighting doesn't accomplish anything but get more of their people killed. And there have been signs that the people of Gaza are getting sick and tired of the conflict continuing and are blaming Hamas for it, not Israel.
And Israel? They have way too much on their plate and Hamas has become a public relations nightmare for them. Israel has issues in Syria, issues with the Houthis in Yemen, issues with Turkey and are threatening war with Iran. And all of that is while they are still in heavy combat in Gaza. At some point enough is enough and they have to make some kind of peace. And if they do they could also probably end the war with the Houthis as well.
Of course the public relations nightmare is a mess for them as well. Making a peace deal would probably restore a bit of their public image. How anyone has any sympathy for Hamas and the people of Gaza that put them into power after October 7th is beyond me, but it's absolutely true that Israel has had a massive public relations nightmare because of this war.
Still, this war has made a bit of a cynic out of me, along with the Russia-Ukraine war. Both Israel and Hamas would benefit from a cease fire, but will they listen to reason? I have no idea. Doing so would be a huge boon for everyone but I just don't see it happening as of yet. Hopefully I am wrong.
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