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Israel Proposes Hostage Deal as Fighting Continues in Gaza

Palestinians set out to Khan Younis with their belongings, from Rafah's Tel al-Sultan area after it was encircled by Israeli forces on March 23, 2025. (AFP)
Palestinians set out to Khan Younis with their belongings, from Rafah's Tel al-Sultan area after it was encircled by Israeli forces on March 23, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Proposes Hostage Deal as Fighting Continues in Gaza

Palestinians set out to Khan Younis with their belongings, from Rafah's Tel al-Sultan area after it was encircled by Israeli forces on March 23, 2025. (AFP)
Palestinians set out to Khan Younis with their belongings, from Rafah's Tel al-Sultan area after it was encircled by Israeli forces on March 23, 2025. (AFP)

Israel has proposed an extended truce in Gaza in exchange for the return of about half the remaining hostages, Israeli officials said on Monday, as the military issued new evacuation orders and said "intense operations" were planned in the south of the enclave.

The latest proposals would leave open a final agreement over ending the Israel-Hamas war that has destroyed wide swathes of Gaza, killed tens of thousands of people and displaced almost the entire population since it began in October 2023.

But the proposals foresee the return of half the 24 hostages believed still to be alive in Gaza nearly 18 months after they were seized by Hamas-led gunmen - and about half the 35 assumed to be dead - during a truce lasting between 40 and 50 days, said the Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel would step up pressure on Hamas but would continue negotiations "under fire". Continued military pressure was the best means of securing the return of the hostages, he said.

Netanyahu also repeated Israeli demands for Hamas to disarm although the Palestinian movement has rejected such calls as a "red line" it will not cross.

Netanyahu said Hamas leaders would be allowed to leave Gaza under a wider settlement that would include proposals from US President Donald Trump for the "voluntary emigration" of Palestinians from the narrow Strip.

EVACUATION ORDERS

On Monday, the Israeli military told Palestinians living in areas around the southern city of Rafah to relocate to Al Mawasi, an area on the shoreline.

"The Israeli army is returning to intense operations to dismantle the capabilities of the terrorist organizations in these areas," the military's Arabic language spokesperson said in a statement.

Hamas said at the weekend that it had accepted proposals made by Qatari and Egyptian mediators which security sources said would entail five hostages being released every week in exchange for a truce.

The Israeli military, which has cut off aid to Gaza, resumed operations on March 18 after a two-month truce, during which 33 Israeli hostages and five Thais were released in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

Efforts to move to a second phase in the ceasefire agreement signed with U.S. backing in January have largely stalled, with no sign of movement to overcome fundamental differences between the two sides over the postwar future.

Israel has said Hamas' military and government capacity must be entirely dismantled and says the group, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, can have no role in the future governance of the enclave.

Hamas says it is willing to step back to allow another Palestinian administration to take its place but has refused to disarm and says it must play a part in choosing whatever government follows.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza following an attack by Hamas-led gunmen on southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023 in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken as hostages into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

The military campaign has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health authorities.

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Arab World

Evacuation Warnings Expand South Lebanon ‘Red Zone’, Strikes Raise Toll

Residents from southern Lebanon hold signs bearing the names of their occupied towns and those at risk of Israeli destruction during a sit-in in Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut (AFP)
Residents from southern Lebanon hold signs bearing the names of their occupied towns and those at risk of Israeli destruction during a sit-in in Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut (AFP)
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Evacuation Warnings Expand South Lebanon ‘Red Zone’, Strikes Raise Toll

Residents from southern Lebanon hold signs bearing the names of their occupied towns and those at risk of Israeli destruction during a sit-in in Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut (AFP)
Residents from southern Lebanon hold signs bearing the names of their occupied towns and those at risk of Israeli destruction during a sit-in in Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut (AFP)

Israel has expanded the scope of the “red zone” in southern Lebanon to areas about 22 kilometers from the border in Tyre and Nabatieh, issuing successive evacuation warnings covering more than 20 towns.

The warnings triggered a new wave of displacement toward the city of Sidon, before Israel followed them with a series of intensive strikes that raised the human toll and widened the scale of destruction, while imposing a new field reality beyond the limits of the “yellow line.”

Successive warnings and geographic expansion

The Israeli army on Thursday issued a series of urgent warnings ordering residents of southern towns to evacuate immediately. The warnings came in two stages and included villages in Tyre and Nabatieh, reflecting a clear expansion of the area of operations.

The first warning included the towns of al-Samaaiyeh, al-Hinniyeh, al-Qlayleh, Wadi Jilo, al-Kaniseh, Kafra, Majdal Zoun and Siddiqin, before these areas were directly hit after the warning.

In a second warning, the Israeli army expanded the alerts to include Jebchit, Habboush, Harouf, Kfar Jouz, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Abba, Adchit al-Shqif, Arab Salim, Toul, Houmine al-Fawqa, in Nabatieh district, as well as al-Majadel, Arzoun, Dounine, al-Hamiri and Maaroub, in Tyre district.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee called on residents to move at least 1,000 meters away.

Southern Lebanese sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that an expanded “red zone” had emerged alongside the “yellow line,” stretching to the outskirts of Nabatieh across an area more than 35 kilometers wide and extending about 25 kilometers into Lebanese territory.

The zone includes dozens of villages now exposed to shelling or evacuation warnings, triggering large waves of displacement.

The road from the south toward Sidon and Beirut witnessed a new wave of displacement, especially from Nabatieh and its surroundings, after Adraee’s latest threat.

Strikes accompany warnings

The warnings were accompanied by direct strikes, with raids targeting several of the towns included in them. A drone also struck a motorcycle in the town of al-Shahabiyeh, killing two people and wounding one, while warplanes raided the Al Hamza neighborhood between Nabatieh al-Fawqa and Kfar Rumman.

Israeli forces carried out a dawn explosion in the town of Khiam, as raids continued on several areas, including Toulin and al-Jmayjmeh. Shelling also hit Safad al-Batikh, Zebqine, Jabal al-Batm, Qabrikha and Khirbet Selm.

In Bint Jbeil, explosions hit homes and infrastructure in the Khallet al-Mashta area, while a raid destroyed a heritage house in Nabatieh al-Fawqa that was more than 100 years old. A strike on Batouliyeh also destroyed the water station, halting water pumping to residents.

High human toll

Figures showed that 42 people were killed in 24 hours, raising the number of casualties since March 2 to 2,576 dead and 7,962 wounded.

In a detailed toll, the Health Emergency Operations Center said nine people were killed, including two children and five women, and 23 were wounded, including eight children and seven women.

Seven people were also killed in a raid that targeted the town of Zebdine, as strikes continued on villages in Nabatieh.

Civil defense teams resumed search operations in the town of Jouaya for missing people after retrieving five bodies, while a house in al-Hinniyeh collapsed on its residents amid difficulties for rescue teams trying to reach the site.

Israeli warplanes also broke the sound barrier over the Bekaa region, causing a loud boom in the afternoon.

Drone escalation on both sides

Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it targeted four Merkava tanks in Bint Jbeil and Qantara with attack drones, saying they scored direct hits. It also said it targeted artillery south of the town of Yarine.

The group said it downed an Israeli Hermes 450 drone with a surface-to-air missile over Nabatieh airspace, which the Israeli army acknowledged.

The Israeli army said 12 soldiers were wounded after a military vehicle was targeted by an attack drone in Shomera. It said it had carried out operations against Hezbollah members and dismantled rocket-launching sites.

No real ceasefire

On the ground, Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said during a tour near Taybeh that Israeli forces would remain positioned at the “yellow line” and would not withdraw before ensuring the security of northern settlements.

He stressed that “there is no ceasefire on the fighting front.”

Israel’s public broadcaster reported a discussion between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Trump called for more caution in operations inside Lebanon, warning that targeting buildings harms Israel’s image internationally.

It pointed to efforts to prevent the collapse of the ceasefire over the next two weeks, while Israel requested a time frame for negotiations until mid-May, considering that Hezbollah is the problem, and ending Iran’s influence could open the door to Lebanon’s stability.

Arab World

Zamir Says Army Completed Iran, Lebanon Missions, Eyes Gaza

Two Israeli soldiers walk through rubble in southern Lebanon (AP)
Two Israeli soldiers walk through rubble in southern Lebanon (AP)
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Zamir Says Army Completed Iran, Lebanon Missions, Eyes Gaza

Two Israeli soldiers walk through rubble in southern Lebanon (AP)
Two Israeli soldiers walk through rubble in southern Lebanon (AP)

As Israel faces intensifying domestic criticism over the war, with opponents saying the government has failed to achieve its goals in Lebanon, Iran, and Gaza, scrutiny has also turned to the military, accused of not telling the truth.

In that context, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said in closed-door meetings on Wednesday in southern Lebanon, remarks later leaked by the army, that “everything defined for us by the political echelon regarding the current campaign in Iran and Lebanon has been achieved and even beyond that.”

“In doing so, we have created the operational conditions for the processes now being led by the political echelon,” said Zamir.

But a newly launched drone by Hezbollah targeting Israeli artillery in the town of Shomera, wounding 12 soldiers, including two seriously, shifted Zamir’s calculations.

Shomera, a Jewish town built on the ruins of Tarbikha, captured at the end of 1948, is considered Lebanese by Beirut, which granted citizenship to its displaced residents.

Israel destroyed most of its homes and two mosques and turned it into a Jewish locality. In the current war, it has been evacuated, with Israeli forces establishing positions there.

Retaliatory strikes

Following Hezbollah’s attack, the Israeli Air Force launched retaliatory strikes, calling it a serious attack that cannot be ignored.

It hit several sites and ordered residents of 16 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of their destruction, including Bchit, Habboush, Harouf, Kfar Jouz, Nabatieh al-Fawqa, Aba, Aadchit, Shaqif, Arab Salim, Toul, Houmine al-Fawqa, Majadel, Arzoun, Dounine, Hmeiri, and Maaroub.

This came as sources close to the government said it is seeking to impose a two- to three-week deadline for negotiations with Lebanon, ending by mid-May, warning it could revert to what it described as the “original plan” for the war if no progress is made.

According to Channel 12, the approach was raised in a Wednesday evening call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, following what was described as an urgent Israeli request to set a time frame for US-mediated direct talks between Tel Aviv and Beirut.

The sources said the current “limited response” policy is eroding deterrence and harming civilians and operational readiness.

Gaza not over

The Channel 12 report said the Israeli army is operating under political directives to restrain operations in Lebanon, avoiding deep strikes, with any action north of the Litani River requiring special approval.

It said the current posture, limiting the army to response rather than initiative, benefits Hezbollah and gives it room to regroup, exposing Israeli forces to added risks.

Amid the criticism, Zamir toured areas held by Israeli forces in Lebanon on Wednesday, saying the army is carrying out political directives and awaiting further decisions.

“In Lebanon, the mission assigned to us by the political echelon is to position ourselves along the line to prevent direct fire on the communities. We have achieved this; this is the line we are on. We may be required to remain on it,” said Zamir.

The report questioned the cost Israel is paying at this stage, citing what it described as consideration for US interests in the confrontation with Iran.

Zamir also said the next battle could be in Gaza, stressing the war there is not over. If Hamas obstructs disarmament efforts, he said, the army would resume the war with full force.

Arab World

France to Host International Meet on Palestinian-Israeli Conflict in June

15 April 2026, Berlin: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, gives a statement at the International Sudan Conference at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. (dpa)
15 April 2026, Berlin: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, gives a statement at the International Sudan Conference at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. (dpa)
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France to Host International Meet on Palestinian-Israeli Conflict in June

15 April 2026, Berlin: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, gives a statement at the International Sudan Conference at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. (dpa)
15 April 2026, Berlin: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, gives a statement at the International Sudan Conference at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. (dpa)

France will host an international meeting in June dedicated to the long-touted two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the French foreign minister announced on Thursday.

"On September 22 last year, France took the momentous decision to recognize the State of Palestine and will host an international conference in Paris on June 12 so that Israeli and Palestinian civil societies can make their voices heard," Jean-Noel Barrot said in a video message played to a gathering of peace activists in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

The "People's Peace Summit" in Tel Aviv was organized by the "It's Time" coalition, a grouping of more than 80 peacebuilding organizations working to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict through a political agreement guaranteeing both peoples' right to self-determination and secure lives.

Several hundred people attended the meeting in Tel Aviv, AFP journalists reported.

"While the Middle East remains deeply scarred by the terrorist attacks of October 7 (2023) in Israel, by more than two and a half years of devastating war in Gaza and by a humanitarian crisis that, sadly, shows no sign of abating, your presence here is an act of resistance against fatalism and resignation," Barrot said.

Palestinian movement Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza, where a ceasefire in effect since October has largely halted fighting.

Barrot's remarks come as the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, one of the most right-wing in Israel's history, vehemently opposes the emergence of a sovereign and fully independent Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and is working on the ground to undermine the possibility of a two-state solution.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas appears extremely weakened and deeply unpopular.