The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States, Egypt and Qatar are pressuring Israel and Hamas to join an agreement under which the hostages would be “released and the war ended” in the Gaza Strip.

According to the newspaper, the United States, Egypt and Qatar are pushing Israel and Hamas to join a phased diplomatic process that begins with the release of the hostages and ultimately leads to the withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the war in Gaza, according to diplomats participating in the mediation. She said conversations.

The newspaper attributed to Taher Al-Nono, Hamas's media advisor, that no real progress had occurred. After the Wall Street Journal report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he rejects Hamas’ demands because they include stopping the war.

“If we agree to this, our warriors will have fallen in vain,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday. “If we agree to this, we will not be able to guarantee the security of our citizens.”

But people familiar with the talks said that at least Israel and Hamas were again willing to participate in discussions after weeks of stalled talks following the end of the last ceasefire on November 30. Negotiations are scheduled to continue in Cairo in the coming days, according to what was announced by the United Nations spokesman. People said.

The willingness of the two parties to discuss the framework was a positive step, according to one person familiar with the talks, and that “the mediators are now working to bridge the gap.”

The new proposal, supported by Washington, Cairo and Doha, represents a new approach to defusing the conflict - aiming to make the release of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas part of a comprehensive deal that could lead to an end to hostilities.

In November, the cessation of fighting lasted for a week, and was accompanied by the exchange of 100 Israeli hostages in Gaza for more than 300 Palestinians arrested by Israel.

Egyptian officials said that Israeli negotiators continued to press for a two-week cessation of fighting to allow the exchange of hostages and prisoners, and were reluctant to discuss plans that stipulate a permanent ceasefire.

The newspaper claims: “Hamas, on the other hand, seeks to make the most of the prisoners it holds, and only wants to exchange them for thousands of Palestinian prisoners and a permanent ceasefire. The officials said that the movement’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, believes that the Israelis will give priority to the hostages on the battlefield.” "Hamas needs to hold out for as long as possible to exhaust Israel and maintain international pressure on it. The officials said that Sinwar is ready to release the hostages, but he wants a longer ceasefire and better conditions than last time."

In his remarks on Sunday, Netanyahu said he rejected Hamas' demands, which he said included ending the war, withdrawing Israeli forces from Gaza, releasing Hamas activists involved in the October 7 attacks on Israel, and leaving Hamas intact.

Netanyahu said he told Biden in the phone call on Friday that Israel would only accept “complete victory” in Gaza.

“I deeply appreciate the United States’ support for Israel, and I said that to Biden,” Netanyahu said. “But I also stand firmly by our vital interest.”

Hamas took more than 200 hostages in a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, which Israel says also resulted in the killing of about 1,200 people, including 311 soldiers, according to Israeli sources, while there are reports of the killing of hundreds of Israelis at the hands of the same Israeli army that used Apache helicopter gunships. To harvest hundreds.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar see another hostage deal as the key to stopping the fighting for a long time. Egyptian officials say that while Israeli leaders take a hardline stance publicly, there are divisions within the Israeli cabinet, with some calling for prioritizing the hostages.

It is noteworthy that in a rare interview with Israeli television, Gadi Eisenkot, the former general who is now a non-voting member of the Israeli war cabinet, said: “We must say with courage that it is impossible to return the hostages alive in the near future without an agreement.”

Other senior Israeli leaders disagree, saying that only continued military pressure on Hamas will force the group to return the prisoners.

Egyptian officials said that last Tuesday in Cairo, Israeli negotiators presented another counterproposal regarding the hostages that did not include a way to end the war. They said that the chief Egyptian negotiator, the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel, accused the Israeli team of not being serious about the talks.

At the same time, Hamas informed Egyptian and Qatari officials that the previous short-term hostage deal was unsatisfactory, as far less aid had arrived in Gaza than the promised quantities, and Israel had detained many prisoners who were later released again.

A Qatari official told the newspaper that the Gulf state "continues to communicate with all parties with the aim of mediating an immediate end to the bloodshed, protecting the lives of innocent civilians, securing the release of hostages, and facilitating the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza."

The mediators proposed a 90-day plan that would first halt fighting for an unspecified number of days until Hamas first released all Israeli civilian hostages, while Israel would release hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel, and withdraw its forces from Gaza towns and cities. Allow freedom of movement in the Gaza Strip, end drone surveillance and double the amount of aid entering the Strip, according to the plan.

In the second phase, Hamas will release the Israeli female soldiers and hand over the bodies, while Israel will release more Palestinians. The third phase includes the release of Israeli soldiers and men of fighting age considered by Hamas to be soldiers, according to Egyptian officials, while Israel will redeploy some of its forces outside the current borders of the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian officials said that among the topics on the table is also the formation of an international fund for the reconstruction of Gaza and security guarantees for Hamas’ political leaders. They said the plan then includes holding talks for a permanent ceasefire, normalizing relations between Israel and Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, and relaunching the process of creating a Palestinian state.

The Gulf states ruled out funding the reconstruction of Gaza - as the Israelis called for - without a clear and irreversible path towards establishing a Palestinian state, according to the newspaper.

The fierce Israeli raids on the besieged Gaza Strip led to the deaths of at least 25,000 Palestinians in the Israeli attack, most of them women and children, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The death and destruction sparked criticism of Israel's conduct in the war from Arab and other governments and protesters in the West. The South African government filed a lawsuit against Israel before the International Court of Justice for crimes of genocide. Israel denied this accusation.

Israel opposes any role for Hamas in any future government in Gaza, and has expressed opposition to suggestions that the secular Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank, should run the Gaza Strip, as the United States envisions.