Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly rejected a proposed new ceasefire and hostage exchange deal mediated by Turkey, a source from Hamas’s leadership told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
Turkey reportedly offered Israel mediation to reach a deal to end the Gaza war, saying it was willing to talk to Hamas leaders to achieve this.
According to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the director of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, Ronen Bar, made a secret visit to Turkey last Saturday and discussed the issue of Israeli captives held by Hamas and other factions in Gaza with Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin.
However, the Hamas leadership source said that Netanyahu had made sure that the talks would fail, refusing to accept Turkey as a mediator in the Gaza war, despite Bar having official authorisation to visit the country.
Recently, Qatar suspended its role as a mediator in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, citing a lack of seriousness from the parties involved.
Qatar, along with Egypt and the US, has been trying to broker a ceasefire and a captive exchange in Gaza for months.
However, negotiations have stalled, with Netanyahu insisting on keeping Israeli forces at the Philadelphi Corridor which separates Gaza from Egypt and at the Netzarim Corridor in the centre of the territory, while Hamas demands a full Israeli withdrawal.
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed also reported that there were contacts between Egypt and Israel regarding the situation at the Philadelphi Corridor and the deployment of Israeli troops there.
Egypt still formally refuses any permanent stationing of Israeli troops on the corridor.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 43,972 people and injured over 104,000 more and utterly devastated the territory.
Israel has also launched an intensified attack and siege on the north of the Gaza Strip believed to be designed to kill, starve, or expel the remaining inhabitants there.
