Jerusalem
CNN
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has retracted key Israeli concessions. Ceasefire negotiationsAn Israeli source familiar with the talks told CNN that the Israeli government demanded that armed men be barred from returning to northern Gaza for the duration of the ceasefire.
Israel had previously agreed to allow the Palestinians unrestricted access to northern Gaza during the duration of any final ceasefire, but the prime minister this week instructed his negotiating team to demand that armed men be banned from entering northern Gaza as part of any ceasefire and hostage agreement, the sources said.
The new demands could upend progress in the hostage negotiations and raise further questions about Netanyahu’s commitment to Israel’s own draft agreement, which is the basis for detailed negotiations.
Last week, a US official told CNN that a framework agreement was “in place,” while an Israeli official Prime Minister Netanyahu Negotiators have signalled they will begin detailed talks, signalling a possible breakthrough. Talks resumed in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Friday. Over the weekend, Hamas I agreed to compromise. A major sticking point for Israel: that the Jewish state must commit to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza before signing the agreement.
but, statement A statement released by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday outlined several “principles” that Israel does not intend to abandon, including resuming fighting in Gaza “until all war objectives have been achieved,” raising doubts about whether the agreement will move forward.
Israel launched its war on Gaza nine months ago after an Oct. 7 Hamas attack left 1,200 people dead and more than 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. The war has left large swaths of the Gaza Strip unrecognized, forced almost the entire population to flee and killed more than 38,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel has said the war would not end until all the hostages are released and Hamas is removed.
CNN has reached out to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office for comment.
Previous reporting by CNN’s Nadine Ebrahim, Ibrahim Dahman, Eugenia Yosef and Tim Lister
