Israel Announces End of Military Operations in Gaza

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Israeli security officials hinted late Friday/Saturday at the conclusion of military activity in the Gaza Strip, expressing confidence that “the time has come” to finalize a deal for the release of detainees in the sector, according to Israeli media.

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This coincides with the conclusion of talks in Doha aimed at a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, but negotiators are set to reconvene next week. U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized that the deal is “much closer” than before.

According to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, senior Israeli security officials said, “Israel can return to the sector when there is new intelligence, but in general, the activity of the Israeli army in Gaza is over.”

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According to these officials, “the Israeli army command has informed decision-makers in Tel Aviv that the Rafah Brigade, affiliated with Hamas, has been dismantled and is nearly nonexistent.”

The channel added that these comments were discussed at the political (government) level during the security situation assessment in recent days.

They also indicated that senior Israeli military officials had informed the political leadership that “the time has come to begin a deal for the release of the hostages, after dismantling most of Hamas‘s combat units.”

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Israeli officials told the “Kan” news channel that the talks in Qatar, which lasted for two days, “made progress on several issues,” but they clarified that this progress was made with the mediators, not with Hamas, while an “Israeli mission remains in charge of technical details” in Doha, and another mission is expected to head to Cairo.

Sources close to the negotiations told the channel that no major breakthrough was achieved at the summit, and “the main points of disagreement remain unresolved.”

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“Kan” learned that to resolve the disagreements, Israel proposed new solutions regarding the “Netzarim” and “Philadelphie” axes. In the coming days, a mission including Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, and government operations coordinator in the territories, General Ghassan Alyan, will depart to resolve outstanding issues.

The U.S., Qatar, and Egypt announced on Friday that they had proposed a new solution during the Doha talks, which lasted two days, “narrowing the gaps” between Israel and Hamas, which rejected this proposal.

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The three countries said in a joint statement that the negotiations would resume next week in Cairo, while diplomatic pressure continues to avoid a regional escalation of the conflict after the recent rise in tensions between Iran and Hezbollah with Israel.

The statement said: “Over the past 48 hours in Doha, senior officials from our governments held intensive talks as mediators aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and the release of hostages and detainees. These talks were serious and constructive and took place in a positive atmosphere.”

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It added that the U.S., supported by Qatar and Egypt, presented during the meeting “a proposal narrowing the gaps between the two sides and consistent with the principles set forth by President Joe Biden on May 31, noting that this proposal “bridges the remaining gaps in a way that allows for the swift implementation of the agreement.”

It was announced that negotiators would “reconvene in Cairo before the end of next week in the hope of reaching an agreement under the terms proposed today.”

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After the statement was released, a senior Hamas official confirmed that the movement’s leadership had been informed of the results of the Doha meetings. He added that the Israeli delegation “set new conditions as part of its obstructive approach, such as insisting on maintaining military forces in the area of the border strip with Egypt (Philadelphie axis) and reserving the right to veto the names of (Palestinian) prisoners and exile other prisoners from Palestine.”

He insisted that Hamas “will accept nothing less than a full ceasefire, complete withdrawal from the sector, normal return of displaced persons, and an exchange of hostages and detainees without conditions or restrictions from the occupation.”

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For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Friday for American, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators to exert “pressure” on the Palestinian Hamas to reach an agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza.

But Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held Netanyahu responsible, during a phone conversation with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday, for “failing to conclude an exchange agreement” in Gaza, calling for “direct pressure on him.”

U.S. President Joe Biden warned Friday all parties in the region against any actions that would compromise efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, stating that an agreement was close.

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Biden said in a statement that his Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, would travel to Israel on Saturday, specifically “to stress that with the imminent conclusion of a comprehensive ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages, no one in the region should take steps to undermine this process.”

The mediators’ statement comes as diplomatic efforts intensify following threats from Iran and Hezbollah to attack Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, in a strike attributed to Israel, hours after the death of Hezbollah military commander Fouad Chokr in an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

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Tehran has vowed to “avenge” Haniyeh‘s death, and Hezbollah to respond to Chokr’s.

However, Biden suggested on Tuesday that a Gaza ceasefire deal could deter Iran from launching an attack on Israel.

Biden said on Friday that reaching a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip was “closer than ever.”

He said on the sidelines of an Oval Office celebration: “We have not yet concluded an agreement,” but added that the conclusion of a deal was closer “than it was three days ago.”

On Friday, the U.S. State Department announced that Blinken would travel to Israel at the end of the week to overcome the last differences before reaching an agreement.

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The talks began in Doha on Thursday with the participation of U.S. CIA Director William Burns, as well as the heads of Israel’s external intelligence services (Mossad), David Barnea, and internal intelligence services (Shin Bet), Ronen Bar.

The Doha negotiations coincided with talks held Friday by French and British Foreign Ministers Stéphane Séjourné and David Lammy in Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said during his meeting with Séjourné and Lammy that his country expected its allies to support it in “attacking important targets” in Iran if Tehran attacked Israel.

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He said in a statement issued by his office: “Israel expects France and the UK to tell Iran clearly and publicly that it is forbidden to attack Israel, and if Iran attacks, the U.S.-led alliance will join Israel, not only to defend it but also to attack important targets” in Iran.

Later, a U.S. official warned that Iran would face “catastrophic” consequences and hinder momentum toward a Gaza ceasefire deal if it attacked Israel in response to Haniyeh‘s death.