Netanyahu Announces Possibility of Initial Ceasefire in Gaza Before Final Agreement

Israeli media reported that Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the first phase of the U.S. plan to end the Gaza war could begin before a final agreement is reached. Mr. Netanyahu spoke on Monday, June 4, during a closed session of the Knesset's Security and Foreign Affairs Committee. Although the meeting was behind closed doors, Israeli media published details of his remarks. Reports indicate that Netanyahu told committee members he has not agreed to end the war, claiming that the plan announced by Joe Biden is 'partial' and has 'details that have not yet been announced.' According to Haaretz, from the Prime Minister's perspective, a 'temporary' halt to military operations for a period of 42 days is not permanent and is aimed at freeing hostages. However, he stated that further negotiations for Israel's desired conditions would begin 16 days after the cessation of military operations. Reuters reported that these remarks indicate the possibility of Israel entering a preliminary ceasefire in the Gaza war, although it rejects Hamas's condition for a complete end to the war. At the end of this meeting, Netanyahu also told the Israeli people that the destruction of Hamas and the freedom of Israeli hostages are part of the framework of the plan that the war cabinet decided on 'unanimously' and that he did not add anything to it suddenly due to pressure from his coalition partners. Meanwhile, the Israeli war cabinet reviewed a ceasefire proposal in the Gaza war on Sunday night, which had been presented by the U.S. President two days earlier. Joe Biden stated on Friday that this proposal was raised by Israel itself in negotiations. However, Benjamin Netanyahu did not publicly comment on it in any meeting. Ofir Falk, the Prime Minister's senior political advisor, told the Sunday Times on Sunday that although the plan is 'not a good agreement,' Israel accepts it to free its kidnapped citizens and is reviewing its details. According to Israeli media, Netanyahu has not informed ministers who are not members of the five-member war cabinet about the details of the ceasefire plan and is concerned about their opposition. Betzalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, two ministers allied with Netanyahu's government, announced that the published plan would be 'a failure' for Israel and that they would not remain in this government coalition. At the end of the Israeli war cabinet meeting on Sunday night, the U.S. Secretary of State held separate phone conversations with the Defense Minister and Benny Gantz, the senior minister of the war cabinet. The U.S. State Department announced that Antony Blinken expressed satisfaction with Israel's readiness for a fruitful agreement, emphasizing the need for Hamas to accept the ceasefire proposal immediately. According to Haaretz, U.S. officials have also stated several times in recent weeks that an agreement between Israel and Lebanon is attainable, but it depends on the end of the Gaza war. Clashes between the Israeli army and Hezbollah have intensified in recent days. Hezbollah shot down an advanced Israeli drone of the 'Hermes' model over Lebanon on Saturday and simultaneously attacked the city of Kiryat Shmona and the Israeli military base 'Gibor' with dozens of 'Burqan' missiles. According to Haaretz, the Biden administration wants to prevent the possibility of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah escalating into a full-scale war and is concerned that such a war could lead to widespread destruction on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border, resulting in thousands of casualties. Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah have been ongoing since the extremist group Hamas attacked Israeli territory eight months ago. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, aligned with Hezbollah, reported on Monday that Hamas wants the U.S. to guarantee that Israel will fulfill its commitments based on the ceasefire agreement. In the first phase of the plan announced by Mr. Biden, Israel's commitments are stated as follows: declaring a ceasefire, withdrawing the army from densely populated areas of Gaza, agreeing to the return of residents to northern Gaza, allowing the daily entry of 600 trucks of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, and releasing hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners from Israeli jails. Hamas's commitment in the first phase is to free Israeli hostages who are women, elderly men, and injured men. The second phase will begin for negotiations around a permanent ceasefire, and as long as discussions are ongoing, the war should not resume. In the second phase, while continuing negotiations for a sustainable ceasefire, Israel is committed to withdrawing all its forces from Gaza and releasing more Palestinian security prisoners. Hamas's commitment in the second phase is to free the remaining living Israeli hostages, including military men. The third phase of the plan requires Israel to agree to provide facilities for the reconstruction of Gaza. Hamas's commitment in this final step is to hand over the bodies of deceased Israeli hostages. The Israeli Defense Minister stated on Sunday that his country will never accept Hamas's sovereignty over Gaza again and is seeking to find a replacement for Hamas to govern Gaza. However, according to Channel Kan, Hamas has killed several tribal leaders with whom Israel had negotiated to govern parts of Gaza, such as the Zeitoun area. Meanwhile, on Monday, the Israeli army reported that it used the 'Arrow' missile defense system to intercept a ground-to-ground missile fired from the Red Sea near the southern port of Eilat. The sound of the imminent missile attack alarm in Eilat drove people to shelters. The army announced that the 'Arrow' air defense system intercepted and destroyed the fired missile before it entered Israeli airspace. No group has claimed responsibility for this attack yet. Previously, several attempts to drone-attack the port of Eilat had been attributed to Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Israeli army announced on Monday that it had discovered the body of Dolav Yehud near the Kibbutz Nirim farms, close to the border with Gaza. It was previously believed that Dolav Yehud was among the remaining Israeli hostages in the hands of Palestinian armed groups in Gaza. The army stated that its investigations and autopsy confirmation indicate that Dolav Yehud was killed on October 7 last year during an attack by Hamas members on Israeli territory. With the discovery of this individual’s body, the number of Israelis held hostage by Hamas and Islamic Jihad has decreased to 124. In the past three weeks, the Israeli army had recovered the bodies of nine other hostages, including two Thai workers, from a tunnel in Jabalia in northern Gaza. Last Friday, Hamas released an audio tape from Noa Argamani, a 27-year-old hostage, asking Israel to work for her and the other hostages' freedom. The Islamic Jihad organization also released a video last week of a 27-year-old Israeli hostage with a similar message. Families of the hostages gathered on Sunday night in front of the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv during the Israeli war cabinet meeting, chanting for the full acceptance of the agreement that would lead to the earlier release of their loved ones after 241 days. Demonstrations by families and their supporters to increase pressure on the government were held on Saturday night in Tel Aviv, with about 120,000 Israelis participating. Following the increase in public anger in the Maldives over the Gaza war, the Maldives has banned the entry of Israelis into the country. The Maldives Presidential Office announced on June 3 that the country's cabinet decided to change laws to prevent holders of Israeli passports from entering and established a committee to oversee this process. According to Haaretz, the Maldives, a Sunni Muslim country that does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, is a popular tourist destination for Israelis. In the past year, during which eight months of the Gaza war occurred, about 11,000 Israelis traveled to the Maldives. Following the Maldives government's decision, the Israeli Foreign Ministry warned Israeli passport holders to refrain from any travel to the Maldives. Meanwhile, the presence of the Israeli women's national football team in Scotland for the European Championship faced widespread protests from Palestinian supporters in that country. Protests in Scotland began several days before the match when a clip on social media showed some players of the football team in Israeli army uniforms. When the Israeli female footballers arrived at the airport on Friday to head to their hotel, several vehicles with protesters followed the bus carrying the athletes and later reached the hotel where the athletes were staying to continue their protests. According to Israeli media, under these circumstances, ensuring the safety of Israeli athletes at the upcoming Olympic Games in France this summer is a primary concern for the country's internal security organization, which is responsible for protecting citizens during such international events.