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Semafor Signals

US, Hamas officials again raise hopes of Gaza ceasefire deal

Updated Dec 18, 2024, 10:04am EST
Middle East
Damaged buildings in Gaza.
Stringer/Reuters
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The News

US officials and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are raising hopes that a Gaza ceasefire may finally be in the offing.

Talks over a truce have languished for months as Israel balanced its campaign inside the enclave and the dismantling of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, and, more recently, establishing a buffer zone in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. The conflict in Gaza has persisted throughout, with an estimated 45,000 people killed and millions displaced since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

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SIGNALS

Semafor Signals: Global insights on today's biggest stories.

Timing may finally be right for a ceasefire deal

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Source:  
The New Arab

The timing for a deal between Israel and Hamas may, finally, be right: Israel has struck a fragile ceasefire with a much-weakened Hezbollah in Lebanon, while the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, also backed by Iran, takes another node out of Tehran’s proxy network. Against this backdrop, Israel may be more comfortable giving concessions to Hamas, The New Arab noted, especially as the Palestinian militant group, has been “left isolated with fewer options to bargain with.” The war itself has also reached a critical point, the outlet wrote: Israel’s military has essentially won the fight in Gaza, but is unlikely to secure remaining hostages without some kind of deal or fully destroy Hamas, while Palestinians have reached rock bottom.

Netanyahu may feel more pressure from Trump to agree ceasefire

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Sources:  
The Washington Post , Sky News , ABC News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could feel more pressure to negotiate a ceasefire from US President-elect Donald Trump than he did outgoing President Joe Biden. Israeli officials described the November Lebanon ceasefire as a “gift” to Trump, who had campaigned on bringing peace to the region. Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly said he wants the war to be resolved before his January inauguration. That said, the Republican also became the first world leader to recognize Israel’s control of the Golan Heights, which the country had seized from Syria in 1967. Some Israeli officials think Trump could go further in a second term, including supporting Israel’s settlement ambitions in the Palestinian West Bank, ABC News reported.

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