To Resolve the Gaza Truce Deadlock: A New Map on Netanyahu’s Table
Israel is considering presenting new “redeployment maps” for its military forces in Gaza, following Hamas’s rejection of a prior proposal.
The “map issue” has become one of the key obstacles to reaching a ceasefire agreement in the enclave.
Hamas rejected Israeli maps that designated specific withdrawal zones and areas under military control in Gaza.
According to the Hebrew-language site Ynet, affiliated with Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel is now considering offering revised maps “with certain modifications as part of the ongoing negotiations in Doha.”
Critical Meeting
According to political sources, a decision is expected during a meeting convened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening.
If the new maps meet Hamas’s demands, they could mark significant progress in talks aimed at securing the release of ten living hostages and the bodies of eighteen others.
Once the agreement is activated, a 60-day negotiation period would begin to work toward a full ceasefire.
Palestinian sources involved in the talks indicate that Israel currently insists on maintaining control over 40% of Gaza during the ceasefire, a position Hamas rejects, demanding a wide-scale withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Hamas is particularly demanding withdrawal from the Morag Corridor and strongly opposes Israeli proposals to expand the buffer zone at the expense of Gaza’s territory, including isolating Rafah from the rest of the Strip.
The same sources reported that Israel plans to establish a “humanitarian city” in Rafah, where displaced Palestinians would be relocated and receive services.
Mutual Accusations
On Saturday, Hamas and Israel exchanged blame for obstructing indirect negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Talks that began last Sunday are now facing “serious complications due to Israel’s insistence on a redeployment map presented Friday, which does not constitute a full withdrawal and maintains military presence over more than 40% of Gaza — something Hamas rejects,” a Palestinian source told Agence France-Presse.
The source warned that the map aims to “confine hundreds of thousands of displaced persons to a section of western Rafah, paving the way for forced displacement — a scenario Hamas firmly opposes.”
The Hamas delegation, the source added, “will not accept the proposed Israeli maps as they essentially legitimize the reoccupation of nearly half of Gaza and fragment the territory into isolated zones without access or freedom of movement.”
Palestinian officials added that Qatari and Egyptian mediators have asked both parties to postpone discussions on the withdrawal until the arrival of U.S. envoy Steve Wietkopf in Doha.
A second Palestinian official said Hamas is demanding Israeli withdrawal from all areas reoccupied since March 2, when a two-month truce collapsed. He accused Israel of “deliberate obstruction to prolong its war of extermination.”
Still, progress has reportedly been made regarding humanitarian aid and a potential prisoner-hostage exchange.
According to Israel’s public broadcaster, after Hamas rejected Israel’s withdrawal map, the group is expected to soon present its own version.
An Arab diplomat involved in the negotiations stated that the mediating countries have not given up, though “major hurdles remain over Israel’s proposed map.”
The diplomat said mediators are trying to balance Hamas’s rejection — citing the map’s lack of realism — with the internal challenges faced by the Israeli government in reaching consensus among its hardline factions.
“At the moment, the focus is on overcoming the map obstacle,” he said, adding that the American side had expressed dissatisfaction to Arab mediators regarding Israel’s proposal.
On the Ground
On Sunday morning, Palestinian medical sources reported that 141 people had been killed in Israeli strikes over the past 24 hours in Gaza, including 33 civilians waiting for humanitarian aid.
Israel carried out attacks in the north and west of Khan Younis, the Al-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, and other areas across the Strip.
