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 Diplomatic race as the Israel-Gaza truce's expiration approaches

As Israel and Hamas state their demands for an extension, the US president says his intention is to keep the truce in place longer.

November 27, 2023

 Negotiations were intense as the Israel-Gaza war truce approached its last day.

The need of extending the four-day ceasefire in the war, which is scheduled to expire on Monday, was emphasised in statements from Israel, Hamas, the United States, and other parties that were released overnight and into the morning.

The two sides are getting ready for the fourth captive-prison swap while they continue their diplomatic campaign. In exchange for the release of ten more prisoners, Israel has stated that it is willing to stop its assault on the enclave for one day, but it has also reaffirmed its determination to fight till "victory."

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden expressed his hope that Israel and Hamas' interim ceasefire would last as long as prisoners were being freed. Yesterday, the Palestinian organisation released 17 more prisoners, among them an Israeli-American girl of four years old.

In order to continue seeing more hostages emerge and provide more humanitarian aid to those in need in Gaza, prolonging the ceasefire "is my goal, that's our goal," Biden stated during a press conference.

It was anticipated that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make a side trip to Israel on Monday before travelling to Brussels to attend a NATO conference of foreign ministers, where the Gaza crisis would likely be discussed.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, stated on Sunday that he discussed the detainee release with Biden. But he added that he also informed the US president that Israel would return in force to fulfil its objectives of ending Hamas and freeing all prisoners at the end of the truce.

On Sunday, Netanyahu made his first appearance in Gaza as the head of state of Israel since 2005. He reaffirmed the war's objectives to the soldiers while standing in fatigues atop a tank and alluded to the prospect of prolonging the ceasefire.

If significant efforts were made to increase the number of Palestinian captives freed by Israel, Hamas stated that it would like to prolong the ceasefire.

According to a spokesman, the organisation in charge of Gaza wants the combat to stop for "as long as prisoners keep coming out."

On Monday afternoon, the Palestinian Authority announced that efforts are underway to prolong the agreement with Qatar, Egypt, the US, the EU, and Spain.

The present truce may be extended for "one, two, or three days," according to Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, but he noted that nobody is certain how long it will last.

On this, the fourth day of the truce, Palestinians are going back to their homes in Gaza.

Four exchange rounds

Israel released 39 young Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, bringing the total number of captives released since the start of the truce to 117.

Hamas claimed to have turned over 13 Israelis, three Thais, and one Russian national during the fourth round of negotiations between the two parties over a cease-fire. A total of 58 prisoners have been freed by the Palestinian group, 39 of whom were returned to Israel.

On Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross verified that it had successfully relocated the most recent group from Gaza.

"All the actors in the region are looking for a way to end this so the hostages are all released and... Hamas is completely no longer in control of Gaza," stated Biden in his statement.

He also conveyed his joy at the liberation of Abigail Edan, the four-year-old Israeli-American hostage.

After seven weeks of combat following Hamas's October 7 offensive, which Israel claims resulted in 1,200 deaths and the return of over 240 hostages to Gaza, a four-day truce was reached last week.

Israel launched a ground invasion and blasted the enclave in retaliation for that attack. According to Gaza health authorities, there have been almost 14,800 Palestinian deaths and hundreds of thousands of displacements.

Fourth day of the humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip begins despite international efforts to prolong it

"It is unlikely that this will extend."

There is substantial scepticism in the area over the possibility of extending the truce despite the diplomatic efforts.

Given the signals emanating from the Israeli side, Ibrahim Abusharif of Northwestern University in Qatar stated that it is unlikely to occur.

"In my opinion, a ceasefire does not equate to eliminating the initial cause of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians," he expressed to Al Jazeera.

"It doesn't seem like a good way to go forward if they are just prolonging the ceasefire for a few days and starting the slaughter again. Nothing is progressing at all.

According to Israeli Army Radio, the Tel Aviv government was expecting Hamas's answer regarding the agreement to prolong the ceasefire by one more day in exchange for the release of ten prisoners.

According to Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Blinken and Sameh Shoukry, his counterpart from Egypt, spoke on Sunday about the challenges facing Israel's agreement with Hamas and the best means to achieve an all-encompassing ceasefire.

Beijing's Foreign Ministry announced that Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, will go to New York this week to attend a UN Security Council meeting regarding the Israel-Hamas crisis.

Josep Borrell, the chief EU diplomat, joined the effort to keep the truce in place.

At the opening of the Union for the Mediterranean summit, which Israel was not present at, he stated on Monday, "The pause should be extended to make it sustainable and long-lasting while working for a political solution."

"Political solution that should allow us to break the cycle of violence once and for all," the European official demanded.

He declared that on October 7, "nothing can justify the indiscriminate brutality Hamas unleashed against civilians." "However, one horror does not excuse another."

An prolongation of the truce, according to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, "would allow for much-needed relief to the people of Gaza and the release of more hostages."

In remarks to reporters in Brussels, he said that Iran ought to control its "proxies," most likely alluding to the Hezbollah organisation in Lebanon.

Source AL JAZEERA