Hamas’ senior political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, traveled to Cairo on Wednesday tomeet with Egyptian officials about the situation in Gaza, the organization said on Telegram in Arabic.
Despite the US decision to form an international naval task force to protect maritime trade in one of the world’s most important waterways, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have vowed to continue targeting ships in the Red Sea.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said his country was willing to agree to a second humanitarian cease-fire in exchange for the release of more Hamas hostages.
Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, still holds approximately 129 of the 240 or more people it abducted from Israel during its deadly attack on October 7.
According to Axios, Israel’s offer calls for a one-week cease-fire during which Hamas would release about 40 hostages, all of whom are women, men over the age of 60, and sick or seriously injured people. In exchange, Israel would consider releasing Palestinian prisoners accused of more serious anti-Israeli attacks than those released during a week-long ceasefire that ended last week.
David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, made the proposal through Qatari intermediaries.
According to an official familiar with the situation, Barnea met with Qatar’s prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and William Burns, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, in Warsaw on Monday to discuss the hostage proposals and a pause in fighting. It was the first time the three had met since the previous truce ended in November.
Qatar has played a critical role since the beginning of the war, serving as the primary go-between for Israel’s negotiators.
Separately, Hamas stated that it is “categorically rejecting” negotiations over prisoner exchanges while Israel continues to attack Gaza. However, the group stated that it is willing to participate in “any initiative that contributes to ending the aggression on our people and opening the crossings to bring in aid.”
According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, nearly 19,500 Palestinians have been killed since October 7. Homes and other infrastructure have also been extensively damaged. Israel claims that 1,200 people were killed in the initial incursion by Hamas fighters and has vowed to destroy the group in order to prevent a repeat attack.
Despite the US decision to form an international naval task force to protect maritime trade in one of the world’s most important waterways, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have vowed to continue targeting ships in the Red Sea.
The Iran-backed group also warned Washington that it was prepared to retaliate if the US chose to attack Houthi bases militarily.
“We seek to develop our military capabilities in order to overcome any obstacles and achieve our objectives,” Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech on Wednesday. If the United States attacks Yemen, he says, “we will target it” by firing missiles and drones at US battleships and other vessels.
The Houthis have attempted to disrupt several fuel tanker and cargo ship voyages in the Red Sea, ostensibly in support of Hamas’s war against Israel. They have increased their attacks in the last week, roiling shipping markets and helping to drive up oil prices. The US and UK navies shot down a drone over the weekend.
According to Bloomberg, the US was considering military action against the Houthis, but preferred a diplomatic solution. Washington announced on Monday that it is collaborating with Western and Arab allies to strengthen a maritime protection force aimed at securing ships navigating the Red Sea, which transports nearly 12% of global trade.
According to Swiss logistics firm Kuehne+Nagel International, more than 100 container ships are now taking the long route around Africa to avoid violence, incurring additional costs and delays.
The US holds Iran responsible for allowing the Houthis to attack ships, which the Islamic Republic denies. Over the last eight years, Tehran has provided funding and training to the Houthis. They are part of the country’s “axis of resistance” against the United States and Israel.
The foreign ministers of Cyprus and Israel said they were working on the final details of a plan to establish a maritime aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza
“As humanitarian needs escalate, so does the urgency of the need to act,” Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said after meeting his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in the port city of Larnaca, according to an audio tape of his remarks sent by the Cyprus government press office.
According to Kombos, the Cyprus plan calls for the establishment of a logistical hub for the safe delivery of high volumes of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza via a dedicated one-way maritime corridor.
Cyprus, Israel, and other regional partners were promoting the initiative to facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza “in an organized and well-inspected manner,” according to Cohen. DM
