Israel Submits Updated Gaza Hostage and Ceasefire Proposal to US

On Saturday, Israel presented its revised proposal for the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal to the U.S., according to an Israeli senior official and two other sources familiar with the situation, who were cited in an Axios report. This development comes as negotiations reach a crucial point.

President Joe Biden, who views resolving the hostage crisis and ending the conflict in Gaza as key aspects of his legacy, assured the families of U.S. hostages on Thursday that he would continue advocating for a resolution before the end of his term.

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The updated proposal was submitted ahead of a high-stakes meeting in Rome scheduled for Sunday. This meeting will involve Mossad director David Barnea, CIA director Bill Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani, and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, who will discuss the hostage situation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hardened his stance on the deal, introducing new demands. These include the establishment of a mechanism to monitor and prevent the transfer of weapons and militants from southern Gaza to the north, and maintaining Israeli control over the Gaza-Egypt border.

The updated proposal includes a mention of this foreign monitoring mechanism but reportedly lacks details on its operation or responsible parties. It also proposes changes to the locations for redeploying Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza during the deal's first phase and specifies that IDF forces will stay in the Philadelphi corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border during this phase.

Israel believes a breakthrough in negotiations is unlikely 

Despite these developments, Israeli negotiators expressed skepticism about the potential for a breakthrough in the upcoming Rome meeting. "Netanyahu wants a deal that is impossible to get. At the moment he isn't willing to move and therefore we might be headed for a crisis in the negotiations rather than a deal," an Israeli official said, according to the Axios report.

As the international community watches closely, the success of these negotiations remains uncertain, with critical decisions still to be made.