The Deal (guardian) good and bad in parts
follows:
Ceasefire: Both sides would stop all military operations. Israel would move its troops away from densely populated areas and halt drone surveillance for eight hours every day.
Hostage release: Hamas would release 40 Israeli hostages. Those set to be released include women, children and young adults under 19 years of age, people over 50 and the sick. Men of military age would not be covered in this deal.
Prisoner release: In return, Israel would release 400 prisoners, in a ratio of 10 for every freed hostage. This is a much higher ratio than under the last ceasefire deal, when three prisoners were released for every freed hostage.
Aid and reconstruction: Israel would allow 500 trucks a day of humanitarian aid into Gaza, along with 200,000 tents and 60,000 caravans to house the displaced.
Fuel and equipment to rebuild hospitals and bakeries would be allowed into Gaza and Hamas would promise not to use this to threaten Isreal.
Despite signs both sides may be open to compromise, officials from Israel, Hamas and Qatar – a key intermediary in talks – said significant differences remained and a deal was still a long way off.
A Hamas official said Biden’s comments were “premature” and did not reflect the situation on the ground, Reuters reported. An Israeli website, Ynet, quoted senior Israeli officials saying they did not understand why Biden seemed so confident about the deal.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson on Tuesday said there had been no breakthrough, as Israel and Hamas could not reach agreement on the main issues, though he added the country was “upbeat and optimistic” about mediation prospects.
