International law operators raised a concern. The law of nations takes very seriously what was observed by the late writer and labor activist Simone Weil, who died of starvation during a hunger strike: “behind an error in interpretative terminology there is an error in thought”. In other words, everything needs to be well understood and formalized.
Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu had not made it clear whether the handover of the hostages would result in a permanent ceasefire, with the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the entire geographic strip of Gaza. There was still doubt as to whether Bibi was speaking based on the ongoing negotiations in Cairo and Doha.
Immediately came Yahya Sinwar’s “no”. He is the head of Hamas in Gaza. He doesn’t leave the region and lives in the tunnels. Sinwar designed and executed the October 7 terrorist attack against the state of Israel and Israeli citizens. He commands the remainder of the original five brigades, 24 battalions and 120 companies. His brother was responsible for the construction of the tunnels, most of which were 3 meters wide and 4 meters high. There is talk of a “spider web” type of architecture, with communications and expansion with a radius of more than 4km.
Ismail Hanieyeh, a Hamas commander outside Gaza who lives in Doha, sent a delegation to Egypt to negotiate. The disagreement between Sinwar and Hanieyeh is only apparent, as the strategy is for one to say no and the other to open negotiations.
‘Ultimatum’ detailed: 204 days of war
Within 24 hours, the ultimatum became clearer, given the pressure from the USA, Europe and Arab countries that want a distance from Hamas: Egypt, for example, knows that Hamas is a friendly arm of the Muslim Brotherhood already banned from the country. Saudi Arabia sees Hamas, although Sunni, as a maneuvering base for Shiite Iran, the enemy of the Saudis.
