May 9, 2024 Israel-Hamas war
CNNDisplaced Palestinians arrive in a truck carrying their belongings to set up shelter in a tent camp after returning to Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza on Thursday, May 9. AFP/Getty Images In its most recent ceasefire and hostages counterproposal on Monday, Hamas demanded Israel agree upfront to an initial 12-week pause in fighting rather than six weeks, creating a major obstacle in the negotiations, three sources familiar with the deliberations tell CNN. “Need to maintain flexibility to continue the war to do that,” the official said, adding that Israel couldn’t do that if the first six-week ceasefire period simply flowed into the second phase, when a “sustained calm” is supposed to be restored in Gaza, according to the Hamas proposal. At an earlier point in the talks, Hamas agreed to engaging in negotiations during the first six weeks of a pause in fighting — talks that would require that the parties first reach terms before the second phase of the truce of an additional six weeks could go into effect, sources said. Hamas’ request appears to be confirmed in a document obtained by CNN, which states: “All measures in this stage, including the temporary cessation of mutual military operations, relief and shelter, and the withdrawal of forces, etc., will continue in the second stage until a sustainable calm is declared.” The senior Biden administration official added that the change in Hamas’ position may be due to its negotiators being out of sync with the group’s ultimate decision maker, Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to be underground in Gaza.