Is There a Deal with Hamas?

Lots of confusion surrounding the issue of a possible cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel.

According to the NY Post, Hamas has not accepted the proposal negotiated by Steve Witkoff:

The US has extended a cease-fire deal to Hamas with Israel’s approval Thursday after two previous attempts by President Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to broker agreements fell through — but the terror group said the proposal does not meet its demands.

The sides were closing in on an agreement after the envoy’s latest intense negotiations to initiate a cease-fire, a US official with knowledge of the discussions told CNN, adding that Witkoff did not directly meet with Hamas.

But Israeli media is reporting that President Trump is poised to announce the ceasefire.

Details about the structure of the deal is reported by the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz:

1. Duration: 60-day cease-fire. President Trump guarantees Israel’s adherence to the cease-fire during the agreed-upon period.

2. Release of Hostages: 10 Israeli live hostages and 18 deceased hostages, from the “list of 58” to be released on days 1 and 7 – half of the living and deceased hostages (5 living and 9 deceased) will be released on day 1 of the agreement. The remaining half of the hostages (5 living and 9 deceased) will be released on day 7.

3. Humanitarian Assistance: Aid will be sent into Gaza immediately once Hamas agrees to the cease-fire agreement. Whatever agreement is reached on aid to the civilian population will be respected throughout the course of the agreement. Aid will be distributed through agreed upon channels that will include the United Nations and Red Crescent.

4. Israeli Military Activities: All Israeli offensive military activities in Gaza will cease upon this agreement entering into force. During the cease-fire period, there will be a cessation of aerial movement (military and surveillance) in the Gaza Strip for 10 hours daily, or 12 hours daily during days when exchange of hostages and prisoners take place.

5. IDF redeployment:

a. On day 1, after the release of the Israeli hostages (5 living and 9 deceased), redeployment in the northern part of the Gaza Strip and in Netzarim corridor, in accordance with article 3 regarding the humanitarian aid and base on maps to be agreed upon.

b. On day 7, after the release of the Israeli hostages (5 living and 9 deceased), redeployment in southern part of the Gaza Strip in accordance with article 3 regarding the humanitarian aid and based on maps to be agreed upon.

c. The technical teams will work out final redeployment boundaries during proximity negotiations.

6. Negotiations: On day 1, negotiations under the auspices of the mediators-guarantors on the necessary arrangements for a permanent cease-fire will commence, including:

a. Keys and terms for the exchange of all the remaining Israeli hostages for a number to be agreed upon of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

b. Issues relating to redeployments and withdrawals of Israel forces and long-term security arrangements within the Gaza Strip.

c. Arrangements relating to the “day after” in the Gaza Strip which would be raised by either side.

d. The announcement of a permanent cease-fire.

7. Presidential Support: The President is serious about the parties’ adherence to the cease-fire agreement and insists that the negotiations during the temporary cease-fire period, if successfully concluded with an agreement between the parties, would lead to a permanent resolution of the conflict.

8. Release of Palestinian Prisoners: In exchange for the release of the 10 Israeli live hostages, consistent with the terms and conditions of phase 1 of the January 19, 2025 agreement regarding the hostages and prisoners, Israel will release 125 “life sentence” prisoners and 1,111 Gazan detainees who were detained after 7 October 2023. In exchange for the release of the remains of 18 Israel hostages, Israel will release 180 deceased Gazans. The release will be performed simultaneously in accordance with an agreed mechanism and without public displays or ceremonies. Half of these releases will occur on day 1 and the other half will occur on day 7.

9. Status of Hostages and Prisoners: On day 10, Hamas will provide complete information (proof of life and medical status report / proof of death) on each of the remaining hostages. In exchange, Israel will provide complete information on the Palestinian prisoners that were detained from the Gaza strip since 7 October and the numbers of deceased Gazans held in Israel. Hamas commits to ensure the health, welfare and security of the hostages during the cease-fire.

10. Remaining Hostages Released upon Agreement: The negotiation on the necessary arrangements for a permanent cease-fire should be completed within 60 days. Upon agreement, the remaining hostages (living and deceased) from the “list of 58” provided by Israel will be released. In case negotiations on arrangement for a permanent cease-fire are not concluded within the aforementioned time period, the temporary cease-fire may be extended under conditions and for a duration to be agreed upon by the parties so long as the parties are negotiating in good faith.

11. Guarantors: The mediators-guarantors (US, Egypt, Qatar) will guarantee that the cease-fire will continue for the 60-day period and for any agreed upon extension, will guarantee that serious discussions will be held on the necessary agreements for a permanent cease-fire and will make every effort to ensure the completion of the abovementioned negotiations.

12. Envoy Presides: Special Envoy, Ambassador Steve Witkoff would come to the region to finalize the agreement. Steve Witkoff will preside over the negotiations.

13. President Trump: President Trump will personally announce the cease-fire agreement. The United States and President Trump are committed to working to ensure that good faith negotiations continue until a final agreement is reached

Haaretz also reports that:

Qatar is putting intense pressure on Hamas to agree to the deal, arguing that, after the release of Eden Alexander, they now have a more attentive White House.

Clearly, Qatar is carrying water for Donald Trump, hoping to curry favor with Washington by delivering Hamas’ acceptance of the deal. While Trump remains solidly in Israel’s camp, Israel is coming under increased international pressure to end the starvation of the Palestinians in Gaza.

Spain this week called on European countries to suspend arms shipments amid Israel’s ongoing siege on Gaza. At a meeting of the “Madrid Group”, Spain’s foreign minister called for an immediate suspension of Europe’s cooperation deal with Israel and an embargo on arms shipments.

Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco and Brazil were among those present at the meeting.

This has sparked alarm among some in Netanyahu’s government, with Israel’s foreign minister declaring that an arms embargo on his country would lead to the elimination of the Israeli state and “a second Holocaust”. Even Germany’s new President, Friedrich Merz, normally a supporter of Israel, condemned Netanyahu’s government for its inhumane treatment of the Palestinians.

The deal, if it goes through, is not going to resolve the conflict between the Zionists and the Palestinians. It will simply buy Israel more time to figure out how to complete its genocide of the Palestinian people and take full control of Gaza. The intervention of the Gulf Arabs on behalf of the Palestinians however, creates a potential problem for Trump if Israel does not uphold the deal. The Qataris, if the reporting is accurate, are trusting Trump to do the right thing. This puts Trump on the hook to back up his words with deeds. If he fails to deliver on his promises to the Qataris, the financial deals he celebrated after his recent trek to the Persian Gulf could collapse.

I’ve done three interviews in the last two days with Daniel Davis, Garland Nixon and Michael Farris respectively.