Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that Israel is open to negotiating a permanent ceasefire in Gaza during a proposed 60-day truce, but only on the condition that the territory is demilitarised. Indirect negotiations between the Israeli and Hamas delegations began in Doha on Sunday, seeking to establish a temporary pause in the ongoing war triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 assault.“At the beginning of this ceasefire, we will enter negotiations for a permanent end to the war,” said Netanyahu through a video message from Washington on Thursday.The “fundamental conditions” put forward by Israel were that “Hamas lays down its weapons” and does not have “governing or military capabilities” any longer. “If this can be achieved through negotiations, great. If it cannot be achieved through negotiations within 60 days, we will achieve it through other means, by using force, the force of our heroic army,” Netanyahu said, as reported by AFP. Steve Witkoff, the US Middle East envoy, has proposed a 60-day ceasefire in return for the release of half of the 20 living hostages still held in Gaza, said Netanyahu on Wednesday. Netanyahu informed the families of the hostages that Hamas will decide which hostages will be released during the 60-day truce, as reported by the Times of Israel.“We will do everything in order to maximise (the number of those released) in this round, in the best way possible. Not everything is in our hands,” Netanyahu said, as reported by AP.Hamas announced on Wednesday that it had agreed to release 10 living hostages, but by Thursday, it expressed opposition to any deal involving a significant Israeli military presence in Gaza.Hamas has also demanded “real guarantees” for lasting peace and a free flow of humanitarian aid into the besieged territory of Gaza. Israel has expressed their interest in maintaining their troops in a southern corridor of the Gaza Strip that Israel calls the “Morag corridor”.
