That is why there was no ceasefire in Gaza

For a while it seemed that Israel and Hamas might agree to lay down their arms. Then everything unraveled. What happened?

The case is updated.

Who said yes, who said no – and what points do they disagree on? Here are five questions and answers about the chaos in the ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip.

Didn’t Hamas agree to a ceasefire?

Yes. But the road there was not entirely uncomplicated.

Last week, Israel presented a proposal. There, Israel had lowered its demand on how many hostages Hamas must release in the first phase of the ceasefire. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it an “extraordinarily generous” proposal on Israel’s part.

Saturday looked promising. Then a delegation from Hamas landed in Cairo to discuss the proposal. But already the next day, the talks are said to have collapsed. The delegation from Hamas returned. Later that day, Hamas carried out an attack against the Kerem Shalom border crossing, in the south of the Gaza Strip, which killed four Israeli soldiers.

On Monday, Israel responded by asking 100,000 civilians to evacuate from parts of the border town of Rafah. It became clear that Israel will soon move into Rafah with ground forces.

Then suddenly came the message that Hamas would nevertheless agree to a ceasefire. It must have surprised the Israelis. In Rafah, Palestinians cheered.

So why did Israel say no?

Shortly after the message of a yes from Hamas, came the counter-message: Israel will not agree to a ceasefire. Complete confusion ensued. Did Israel now reject its own proposal?

The details of the proposals are still not known. But according to The New York Times, it was not Israel’s original proposal that Hamas leaders approved on Monday.

Instead, Hamas had agreed to a proposal that reportedly came from Egyptian and Qatari brokers. Israel refused to accept that. The offer was “far from meeting Israeli demands”, according to Israeli authorities.

What do they not agree on?

The problem is that there are some key points on which the parties do not agree:

• Hamas wants one permanent ceasefire and a guarantee that Israel will not resume hostilities. Israel is only interested in one temporary truce.
• Hamas wants Israel to pull out completely of the Gaza Strip. Israel will still have so-called security check in the area.

Are there other things behind it?

Netanyahu fears his coalition government will fall apart. The most right-wing members of the government are threatening to resign if there is not a full invasion of Rafah. They believe it is essential to completely wipe out Hamas. Netanyahu fears that in the future he will lose the support of the most right-wing voters.

The most important thing for Hamas’s survival is not to free Palestinian prisoners sitting in Israeli prisons, writes Haaretz. It is to retain control over the Gaza Strip. Any agreement presupposes that Israel withdraws, according to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Something like this will be able to be celebrated by Hamas as a victory, despite the enormous destruction in Gaza.

What will happen now?

Israel continues preparations for an invasion in Rafah. Palestinians have begun to flee the area.

On Tuesday night, the Israeli army (IDF) captured the Palestinian side of the border post that separates Rafah from Egypt.

They also took control of a 3.5 kilometer wide corridor that runs between Egypt and Gaza.

But attempts to bring about a ceasefire will also continue. Israel will send a delegation to Egypt in an attempt to reach an agreement it believes is acceptable, according to the prime minister’s office.

Both parties will come under strong international pressure to agree on an agreement. But the chances of a breakthrough in the negotiations are still small, believes the Israeli commentator Amos Harel.

An invasion in Rafah will lead to a humanitarian disaster, warns the UN, among other things.

“A ground invasion in Rafah is intolerable because of the devastating humanitarian consequences and because of the destabilizing effect on the region,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday.

The case is updated.