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CNN
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Israel has proposed that Hamas senior leaders might depart Gaza as a part of a broader ceasefire settlement, two officers acquainted with the continued worldwide discussions advised CNN.
The extraordinary proposal, which has not been beforehand reported, comes as Israel has struggled to attain its said purpose of fully destroying Hamas. Regardless of its practically four-month war in Gaza, Israel has did not seize or kill any of Hamas’s most senior leaders in Gaza and left round 70% of Hamas’ combating power intact, in response to Israel’s personal estimates.
Although it will give secure passage out of Gaza for prime Hamas leaders who orchestrated the October 7 attack, draining Gaza of its leaders might weaken Hamas’ grip on the war-torn space whereas additionally permitting Israel to proceed monitoring down high-value targets overseas.
Senior Hamas officers are recognized to stay in Doha, Qatar, and the Lebanese capital Beirut, amongst different locations outdoors the Palestinian territories. An Israeli airstrike earlier this month killed a prime Hamas commander in Beirut.
Israel’s suggestion that Hamas leaders might depart Gaza, although unlikely to be accepted by Hamas, has been mentioned as a part of broader ceasefire negotiations at the very least twice in latest weeks — as soon as final month in Warsaw by Israel’s intelligence chief, Mossad Director David Barnea, after which once more this month in Doha with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in response to one official accustomed to the discussions.
It additionally comes amid a flurry of diplomatic exercise to attempt to obtain an prolonged break within the combating and free hostages believed to nonetheless be alive in Gaza. The White Home’s prime official for the Center East, Brett McGurk, is touring to Egypt and Qatar this week for additional talks.
American and worldwide officers accustomed to the negotiations have mentioned that Israel and Hamas’ latest engagement in talks is encouraging however {that a} deal doesn’t seem imminent.
Stress is constructing on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ship some form of decision. The “full victory” over Hamas that he has referred to as for is a great distance off, by his personal admission. In the meantime, anger amongst Israelis has grown over the shortcoming of the federal government to carry house the greater than 100 hostages being held in Gaza.
Israel is “not attaining their navy targets,” says Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow on the Carnegie Endowment for Worldwide Peace. That, mixed with the “huge strain” on Netanyahu and his authorities to carry hostages house, Miller mentioned, has created a scenario the place Israel could be prepared to suggest having Hamas leaders depart Gaza.
Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Pictures
An Israeli tank alongside a fence on January 19, 2024, as broken buildings are seen within the Gaza strip amid persevering with battles between Israel and Hamas.
“I believe they’re merely bumping up towards towards actuality,” mentioned Miller. “And hostage households are starting to exert super affect.”
As well as, worldwide sentiment towards Israel has soured over its continued bombardment of Gaza, which has killed greater than 25,000 Palestinians, in response to the Hamas-run Gaza Well being Ministry.
For the previous two months, the Biden administration has been brazenly calling on Israel to transition to a lower-intensity part of the battle, which US officers argue has began taking place, although intense operations proceed in southern Gaza.
The proposal for Hamas leaders to go away Gaza was raised in Warsaw in December by Barnea, Israel’s prime intelligence official when he met with US CIA Director Invoice Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al Thani, who has acted as an middleman with Hamas. The official accustomed to the discussions within the conferences mentioned it was then introduced up once more when Blinken was within the Qatari capital earlier this month.
Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Pictures/File
Mossad Director David Barnea
In that assembly Blinken was advised by al Thani that the Israeli thought “would by no means work,” the official mentioned. Partially due to mistrust by Hamas that Israel would in truth finish its operations towards Hamas in Gaza even after its management left.
A second official, from the Center East, was advised about Israel’s proposal by the US.
The US State Division, CIA and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Workplace all declined to remark.
Whereas it’s unclear whether or not in non-public discussions Israel has named which Hamas leaders they might hope to go away Gaza, there isn’t a larger goal than Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ prime official in Gaza. Sinwar is a “lifeless man strolling,” Netanyahu and others have mentioned.
Sinwar spent 20 years in Israeli prisons and is initially from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the place the majority of Israel’s operations in Gaza are at present centered. Israeli and US officers have mentioned they imagine Sinwar could possibly be hiding out within the huge, deep community of tunnels below town, Gaza’s second largest.
His closest confidantes and aides are Mohammed Deif, the chief of Hamas’ armed wing, together with Deif’s deputy Marwan Issa. Sinwar’s brother Mohammed can also be a senior Hamas commander. None are believed to have been discovered or killed by Israel.
Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Pictures/FILE
Prime Hamas official Yahya Sinwar
Final month Israel dropped leaflets on Gaza providing rewards of lots of of hundreds of {dollars} for data on the Hamas leaders, together with a $400,000 reward for data on Sinwar.
“The purpose is bringing down Hamas because the ruler within the Gaza Strip,” mentioned Ofer Shelah, a senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for Nationwide Safety Research.
“There isn’t a distinction if [Sinwar] dies, or if he leaves,” Shelah mentioned. “If he dies, then any individual might take over a lot in the identical method. If we carry all of the hostages again and Sinwar leaves, positively that might make most individuals in Israel really feel that we’ve received the struggle.”
American officers imagine it’s extremely unlikely Sinwar and people round him would agree to go away Gaza, preferring as an alternative to die combating their sworn enemy.
Israel has made no secret of its intention to proceed searching Hamas leaders lengthy after the struggle is over.
Netanyahu said in November he had “instructed the Mossad to behave towards the heads of Hamas wherever they’re.” Ronen Bar, the director of Israel’s home safety company Shin Wager, has vowed to “remove Hamas” all over the world, even when it takes years.
“In every single place: in Gaza, Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Qatar, in every single place,” Bar mentioned in a recording aired in early December by Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan.
Sinwar might maybe be satisfied to go away, Miller argued, if Israel have been to comply with an “asymmetrical” commerce of many occasions extra Palestinian prisoners held by Israel than Israeli hostages.
“I believe he would solely take into account it within the occasion the Israelis additionally agreed to free all the Palestinian prisoners,” Miller mentioned.
“Regardless of the Israelis comply with, Sinwar should know that they’re going to attempt to kill him,” he added. “Weeks, months years.”
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