Their own battle has been fought for weeks by mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the US trying to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage exchange as the clock now ticks down on an Israeli intervention in Rafah.

For now there is a restrained optimism for Israel’s “extremely generous” offer as described by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, with Hamas apparently looking favorably on it. However, he asks some clarifications by the mediators and raises some questionsbefore giving her final answer. Senior Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan speaking to Al Jazeera expressed his fears that Israel does not actually want a complete withdrawal from Gaza. He reiterated the organization’s position for a ceasefire, including the withdrawal of troops from Gaza and the return of Palestinians to their homes.

“It is clear from the Israeli proposal that they are still insisting on two main issues. They do not want a full ceasefire and are not talking, in a serious way, about withdrawing from Gaza. In fact, they are still talking about their presence… which means they will continue to [κατέχουν] Gaza,” he said.

“We have serious questions that we want to ask the mediators. If [υπάρχουν] positive answers, I think we can move forward”, he emphasized.

Within the next 24 hours, Hamas is expected to either accept it, spreading hopes of optimism and for a possible end to the war, or to reject it, creating a new impasse in the negotiations.

According to British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, the current proposal submitted to Hamas includes a 40-day ceasefire and the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages.Information also says it includes new wording on restoring calm in order to satisfy one of the key demands of Hamas, the permanent ceasefire. At the same time, Israeli media reports that Israel has reduced to 33 the number of hostages that Hamas is seeking to release, as a sign of backing down and seeking common ground to finally achieve a ceasefire.

“The current proposal before Hamas involves the release of potentially thousands of Palestinian prisoners,” Cameron claimed today. “I hope Hamas will accept the proposal in front of them,” he added, saying the war would not end until all prisoners were freed.

Cameron also argued that the leadership of Hamas and those responsible for the October 7 attack must leave Gaza to “have a political horizon for a two-state solution”.

He also expressed his optimism that this time an agreement will be reached between the two sides US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken from Riyadh. “They have to make a decision and they have to make it quickly (…)” and “I hope they make the right decision,” he said, referring to Hamas leaders.

The US Secretary of State also estimated that diplomacy prevented the spread of the Israel-Hamas war beyond the Gaza Strip. “We came very close to an escalation or an extension of the conflict, and I believe that thanks to our very targeted and very determined efforts, we were able to prevent it,” Blinken said.

Optimistic and declared Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Soukry for an agreement. “The proposal took into account the positions of both sides,” he said. “There are factors that will have an impact on both sides’ decisions, but I hope everyone will rise to the occasion.”

Pressure is mounting on Israel to reach an agreement

The Israeli government is under increasing pressure from the global allies and the families of the hostages that there should be an agreement with the Israeli Prime Minister himself, however, it seems that there is a breath before he gives the “green light” for an invasion of Rafah. In the event that the negotiations fail again this time, such an attack is considered by many to be inevitable.

The phone call that the US President and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had yesterday, Sunday, reportedly focused on the negotiations. They also discussed the need to maintain a recent surge in aid reaching Gaza while the US insisted it was opposed to a full-scale assault on the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million displaced people have taken refuge.

At the same time, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu is faced with conflicting voices and pressures from his own ministers regarding Rafa since there are not a few who speak for “humiliating defeat of” in case he accepts the deal and is forced to shelve his plans.

On the one hand the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, said yesterday, Sunday, that the Israeli military would “suspend the operation” in Rafah if a hostage release deal was agreed. On the other, far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich warned Netanyahu not to call off the attack, saying that if he failed to destroy Hamas “the government led by you will have no right to exist”.

Alongside, Israel’s Minister of Internal Security, his other far-right government partner, Mr Itamar Ben-Gvirrepeated a January 30 post on X, which he had made during a previous round of negotiations: “Reminder: one irresponsible deal = dissolution of the government.”

Although the prime minister’s office did not react to the statements, Benny Gantz, the centrist former defense minister who has been part of Netanyahu’s war council since October, said the release of the hostages took precedence over the Rafa attack.