Boosted aid, partial IDF withdrawal – new ceasefire details emerge

A senior US official provided new details on Wednesday regarding a deal to release Israeli hostages, saying that the two issues currently on the table are the Philadelphi Corridor and which Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners are to be released.

Another focal point in the talks are the details of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and ceasefire arrangements.

Regarding prisoner and hostage exchanges, the senior official detailed that the list took up much of the agenda during negotiations, but since then hostages were murdered. He said the US holds Hamas responsible, adding that Israel would have a veto over certain prisoners in the first stage. The Israeli hostages to be released include female hostages, female soldiers, men over the age of fifty, and the injured.

Since last weekend, there are six fewer names on the list as Hamas threatens to execute more hostages.

In the last ceasefire deal in November, 200 trucks entered Gaza a day, which will go up to 600 a day, 50 of which will bring fuel. Aid will include materials to reconstruct hospitals, rehabilitate water infrastructure, establish bakeries, and assist in resettling displaced Palestinians. The aid segment of the deal has already been agreed upon, the official said.

In the first stage of the deal, Israeli forces will withdraw from densely populated areas. After 42 days, the second stage is due to begin, which is yet to be worked out between the sides. This paves a path to a permanent ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli troops.

The murder of six Israelis – Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, and Alex Lubnov – both increased the urgency to strike a deal and puts Hamas's seriousness regarding negotiations.

Israel has also proposed significantly reducing presence on the Philadelphi Corridor that blocks the southern part of Gaza from the Egyptian border, which prevents smuggling of weapons. The source said there is a debate over what constitutes densely populated areas. He said that 14 out of 18 items of the deal have been agreed upon, but added that "nothing is final."

Senior terror organization leader Osama Hamdan responded in an interview that discussions "about withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor in the second phase of the deal raises two questions: If Israel is willing to cooperate with the withdrawal plan, then why shouldn't it be in the first phase? The second question is, why shouldn't there be withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor as there will be a withdrawal from the rest of the areas in the Gaza Strip in the first phase? We need the American government to show desire and seriousness about ceasing aggression and thus bind Israel to what it proposed. If the American government cannot make Israel committed, then the question arises what is the justification for suggesting new ideas if ultimately one cannot obligate Israel to maintain them."