Two years after the Hamas atrocities of 7 October 2023, in which militants killed about 1,200 Israelis, and amid the genocide in Gaza, in which Israel has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, the need for peace has never been more urgent.
Palestinians are desperate for an end to starvation and airstrikes. Israelis want the war to end for the sake of remaining hostages and soldiers. Violence has reverberated across the region. Momentum has been growing around Donald Trump’s proposal, with both Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas grudgingly indicating acceptance under US threat.
With indirect talks between Israel and Hamas beginning in in Egypt on Monday afternoon, there are frail hopes of progress at last. Yet both parties have made it clear that they reject major parts of the 20-point US plan, which begins with an immediate ceasefire, the return of all hostages – followed by the release of Palestinian prisoners – and the resumption of full aid.
For Netanyahu, perpetual war in Gaza and beyond extends his political survival. His far-right coalition partners want to expel Palestinians and settle Gaza. Hamas has no desire to sign itself out of existence, and handing back the last hostages would remove any leverage it retains. It has seen much of its leadership destroyed, as well as life in Gaza – but has also watched international public opinion shift unprecedentedly towards support for Palestinians, pulling governments in its wake. It can recruit from a huge pool of angry and traumatised young men.Egypt on Monday afternoon, there are frail hopes of progress at last. Yet both parties have made it clear that they reject major parts of the 20-point US plan, which begins with an immediate ceasefire, the return of all hostages – followed by the release of Palestinian prisoners – and the resumption of full aid.
For Netanyahu, perpetual war in Gaza and beyond extends his political survival. His far-right coalition partners want to expel Palestinians and settle Gaza. Hamas has no desire to sign itself out of existence, and handing back the last hostages would remove any leverage it retains. It has seen much of its leadership destroyed, as well as life in Gaza – but has also watched international public opinion shift unprecedentedly towards support for Palestinians, pulling governments in its wake. It can recruit from a huge pool of angry and traumatised young men.
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Israel continued the bombardment of Gaza as negotiators arrived in Cairo before talks on Monday. The negotiations will mainly focus on US President Donald Trump's peace proposal, which entails the release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a broader end to the war, which is inching closer to the two-year mark.
Syria is holding parliamentary elections on Sunday forthe first time since the fall of the country's longtime autocratic leader, Bashar Assad, who was unseated in a rebel offensive in December.
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