GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War Day 640

Get Them Home

Hamas Response “Unacceptable”

Hamas gave its response to the offer on the table and as I expected, Israel isn’t agreeing with them as we read in a report from the Jewish News Syndicate:

An Israeli negotiation team was set to depart for Doha on Sunday, as Israel stated that the Hamas terrorist group was seeking to make “unacceptable” changes to a ceasefire proposal that had been accepted by Jerusalem.

Color me surprised. Hamas adds poison pills to an offer. In any event, Netanyahu is heading to the US to meet US President Trump for talks about ending the war and apparently the future of the area. Israel sent a negotiating team to Qatar to work on talks in the hopes that a deal can be reached:

Following a situational assessment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed that Israel engage in “proximity talks” for the return of the hostages being held by Hamas, “on the basis of the Qatari proposal that Israel has agreed to,” the Prime Minister’s Office said late on Saturday night.

“The changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal were conveyed to us last night and are unacceptable to Israel,” the statement continued. “The negotiating team will depart tomorrow [Sunday] for the talks in Qatar.”

As reported before, Hamas liked the overall deal but added demands:

Hamas announced on Friday that it had delivered a “positive response” to the U.S.-backed proposal brokered by Qatar. However, the terrorist group is demanding that humanitarian aid be delivered exclusively through the United Nations and other international organizations, ending operations of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund.

As we know, humanitarian aid is used by Hamas to raise money and can’t afford for the aid to go through anyone they can’t control. They also want the IDF to leave Gaza while any ceasefire begins, meaning that all the ground controlled by Israel will be for nothing. Again, Israel won’t agree to that again. And of course they want all fighting to end with them surviving:

Hamas was also reported to have demanded clarifications on Israel’s plans for withdrawal from Gaza during the ceasefire, as well as a commitment to continue negotiations toward a “permanent” end to the war.

A simple hostages for prisoners swap isn’t good enough for them and everyone knows that.

Netanyahu’s Coming To Town

I apologize for getting that Christmas song in your head in July, but the PM is coming to the US and will discuss a host of things including a new hostage deal. Israel’s president arrived today:

Netanyahu was scheduled to depart for Washington on Sunday ahead of a Monday meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House. Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with Netanyahu on Sunday morning ahead of the premier’s diplomatic visit.

Herzog confirmed that a hostage deal will be discussed:

“In his visit to Washington, the prime minister carries with him an important mission—advancing a deal to bring all our hostages home,” Herzog said.

“This is a supreme moral duty,” the president continued. “I fully support these efforts, even when they involve difficult, complex and painful decisions. We must all remember that the cost is not simple, but I am confident that the Cabinet and the security establishment will manage these challenges as they have until now.”

The Israeli president also used the occasion to thank the US for the strikes on Iran:

Herzog thanked Trump for his steadfast support in countering Iran’s nuclear threat and backing Israel. The president called on world leaders to leverage their influence for a breakthrough, commended the negotiation team heading to Doha, and wished Netanyahu success, emphasizing that the nation is united in hope and prayer for the hostages’ safe return.

Trump has his own goals:

Speaking to reporters on July 1, Trump previewed the upcoming meeting, expressing optimism about the possibility of a truce.

“We hope it’s going to happen,” the president said. “We’re looking forward to it happening sometime next week. We want to get our hostages out.”

Some inside Israel’s government want Netanyahu to take a hard stand against any deal and just continue to eliminate Hamas:

On Saturday night, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged Netanyahu to block the “surrender framework” and intensify military action.

He stated his opinions rather clearly:

“The central goal of the war is the collapse of Hamas,” Ben-Gvir said. “A promise of ‘demilitarization of the Strip’ in the future, combined with a partial agreement now that includes the withdrawal of IDF forces from captured territories, the release of hundreds of murderous terrorists, and the resuscitation of Hamas through large-scale humanitarian aid, distances us from achieving this goal and is a reward for terror.”

He continued, “The path to decisive victory and the safe return of our hostages is the full conquest of Gaza, a complete halt to the so-called ‘humanitarian’ aid, and encouraging emigration.”

If Hamas stalls and won’t compromise the whole scope of the talks could pretty much be a moot issue in a week or so:

The Israeli military is continuing ground operations across Gaza as part of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” a campaign aimed at dismantling Hamas’s remaining terror capabilities, seizing key areas in the Strip, and securing the release of the 50 captives, living and dead, still being held by the terrorist group.

The one major goal is getting the hostages back. Israel says they know where they’re at but any operation to rescue them is risky. Perhaps Netanyahu will persuade Trump to get some help from the Special Forces to do it. Now that would really help the war to end.