Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signaled to lawmakers that a deal on the war on Gaza could be imminent.
“I want to say with caution that there has been some progress and we will not stop acting until we bring them all home,” Netanyahu said in parliament on Monday, referring to the Israeli prisoners held since October to be held in Gaza in 2023.
He told the Knesset he did not know how long it would take and he could not reveal details, but that his government was taking serious measures to bring the prisoners back.
Talks about a possible ceasefire agreement have heated up in the last few days as Israel and Hamas have held indirect talks in Doha mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine also said progress had been made after meeting in Cairo on Saturday.
They said the possibility of a deal was closer than ever after Hamas said in a statement that a deal was possible if Israel stopped imposing new conditions.
There have been numerous rounds of negotiations since the war began following the attack on Israel by Hamas and others on October 7, 2023, in which around 250 people were kidnapped in the Gaza Strip and more than 1,100 people were killed.
It is believed that 96 of the prisoners remain in the besieged enclave, including the bodies of 34 people whose deaths were confirmed by the Israeli military.
During a week-long ceasefire in late November, Hamas released 105 civilians and four others were released earlier, but no negotiations since have produced results like the Israeli military increased its attacks on Gaza.
At least 45,317 Palestinians have been killed and 107,713 injured by the Israeli military since the war began Dozens more were killed in strikes across the enclave daily.
Israeli forces continue to impose a heavy siege of more than 80 days on the northern Gaza Strip, where hundreds of people have been killed by bombs and shelling, as only 12 aid trucks have been allowed in since early October.
Kamal Adwan Hospital, the largest partially operational health facility in the north, has also done so exposed to daily attacks. Israeli forces detonated remote-controlled vehicles, injuring at least 20 patients and medical staff overnight. The director of the hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, said the attacks were aimed at “killing and forcibly displacing” hundreds of people in hospital.
Netanyahu praises military successes
In his speech on Monday, Netanyahu also said that Israel had achieved “major successes” militarily on several fronts and that military pressure had forced Hamas to soften its previous demands.
The Palestinian group had claimed it wanted a full Israeli military withdrawal from the enclave, including the Philadelphi Corridor on the border with Egypt and the Netzarim Corridor, established to separate the northern and southern parts of Gaza.
Hamas also called for an increase in humanitarian aid to the starving population and an attempt to rebuild the enclave.
But Israel has signaled its intention to rebuild illegal settlements in Gaza, with a ruling coalition and far-right lawmakers last week formalizing laws allowing the presence and freedom of movement of Israeli civilians in the enclave.
The attack on the northern Gaza Strip was widely described as an attempt to “ethnically cleanse” Palestinians from their land.
Israel’s parliament on Tuesday added $9 billion to the country’s 2024 budget, with the vast majority of the funds going toward defense spending.
Netanyahu “is moving into a position where he will have to accept a deal soon,” Rami Khoury, a distinguished scholar at the American University of Beirut, told Al Jazeera.
Sticking to his military strategy “has not brought him the political dividends he needs for his Israeli audience,” he said.
The Israeli government has been unable to develop a political strategy consistent with its perceived strength in the military field, which relies on support from the United States, he said.
“It is incredible that Hamas has not surrendered despite the total power of the United States and Israel and the support of the United Kingdom, Germany and other countries,” he said.
“The Israelis are coming to a point where they can politically accept Hamas’ key demands and get what they want in return, namely permanent security guarantees from the United States, with some agreements that could spill over into the Arab region.” he said.
The Israeli prime minister has been repeatedly accused of sabotaging numerous previous Gaza ceasefire talks, including by imposing sudden new conditions and stepping up military attacks.
The families of prisoners held in Gaza, who staged weekly protests in Israel, also accused him of prioritizing his own political survival and his alliance with far-right lawmakers over the prisoners.
