Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rejected the planned ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, saying that in its current form it “is not good and does not serve Israel’s goals in the war and constitutes a lifeline for Hamas.”

“Hamas is at its lowest point since the beginning of the war. This is not the time to give it a lifeline. This is the time to continue crushing it and pressuring it,” Smotrich told a right-wing Israeli radio station on Wednesday. “Hamas must return the kidnapped soldiers, but in its surrender deal, not in ours.”

Red lines

Smotrich attacked the emerging deal, saying: “A deal in which hundreds of murderers who will return to killing Jews are released, and in which we give up the northern Gaza Strip and allow a million Gazans to return there, will eliminate the achievements that were achieved with so much blood, and this is a grave mistake.” He added: “The deal is not good and does not serve the goals and interests of the State of Israel, nor victory nor the return of the kidnapped soldiers, because in the end it is a partial deal.”

“He (Netanyahu) knows our red lines, and we have a lot of influence over the government’s moves,” Smotrich said, in what appeared to be a warning to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to proceed. “There is only one thing that matters to us, and that is the interest of Israel.”

Smotrich's opposition statements came after reports of significant progress in ceasefire negotiations. Various reports confirmed on Wednesday what Asharq Al-Awsat published on Tuesday evening about significant progress in the negotiations that could make signing imminent, with most issues closed.

The agreement is supposed to include, in the first stage, a ceasefire and the withdrawal of the Israeli army from city centers, but not from the Gaza Strip, while remaining in the Netzarim and Philadelphi axes, and all women and children will be allowed to return to the northern Gaza Strip. In a later and gradual stage, the return of men will take place according to an agreed-upon mechanism.

In the first phase, which will last from 45 to 60 days, the movement will hand over about 30 Israeli prisoners, only half of whom are alive, in exchange for an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners, including dozens sentenced to life imprisonment. According to the agreement, the Rafah crossing will be handed over to the Palestinian Authority, but not immediately and under arrangements also supervised by Egypt.

The brother of Or Levy, 34, who has been held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, holds a poster of him during an interview with Reuters

According to a source who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat, Hamas considers that it has made major concessions by abandoning the conditions of a ceasefire and a complete withdrawal of the army from the Gaza Strip. However, he confirmed that the movement received guarantees that this stage would be reached in the subsequent stages of the agreement. It is assumed that the handover of the remaining prisoners held by Hamas and the cessation of the war will be discussed during the first stage.

Israel and Hamas confirmed Tuesday that there had been significant progress in the negotiations. But Israeli officials believe that the matter “still needs time” due to disagreements over guarantees for a ceasefire and the fate of released Palestinian prisoners.

There is discussion about deporting some prisoners outside the Palestinian territories, an issue that has not been finally resolved because it requires the approval of Hamas, the prisoners, their families, and the host countries.

The Ynet website said that Hamas may be flexible regarding the release of prisoners abroad, and the possibility of deporting them to a third country such as Turkey, Qatar or another Islamic country is being considered.

Intensive talks are underway in Doha, joined by CIA Director Bill Burns, and in Cairo by US President-elect Donald Trump's recently appointed special envoy for hostages, Adam Boehler.

Boehler met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and then flew to Egypt. According to Israeli media, he is also scheduled to travel to Doha for similar talks.

The US administration, joined by mediators from Egypt and Qatar, has been making intensive efforts in recent days to push the talks forward, with The Times of Israel reporting Monday that President Joe Biden is working with Trump’s team to try to conclude the deal before the latter’s inauguration on January 20.

Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Biden and Trump’s envoys came to close the deal once and for all. Several rounds of negotiations faltered and failed to reach a follow-up to an agreement reached in late November 2023, during which 105 hostages were released in a week-long truce. Four hostages were released before that, and Israeli forces rescued eight of the kidnapped alive, and the bodies of 38 of them were recovered.

Israel believes that 96 of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, are still in the Strip, a figure that includes the bodies of at least 34 hostages the Israeli military has confirmed were killed. Hamas is also holding two Israeli citizens who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in 2014.