DEIR EL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The war in the Gaza Strip has been raging for more than eight months now, and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are divided on Hamas' negotiating position as well as the likelihood of the indirect cease-fire talks between Hamas and Israel bearing fruit.
The talks, mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, appear to have been stalled for weeks despite Secretary of State Anthony Blinken having recently returned from the region, his eight trip since October 2023, to gain support for the deal.
On May 31, US President Joe Biden presented a three-stage cease-fire plan, which he said was put forward by Israel. In the first phase, both Israel and Hamas would halt the fighting for six weeks, during which Israeli forces would withdraw from all populated areas in Gaza, and Hamas would release the women, elderly and wounded hostages still held in Gaza in return for Israel’s release of an unknown number of Palestinians held in its jails. The second phase would see a “permanent end to hostilities,” according to Biden, with Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza and Hamas releasing all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers.
During the third phase, the reconstruction process for Gaza would begin, and Hamas would return the bodies of hostages it took.
