Today's headlines focus on yet another round of the Hamas Hokey Pokey. The real story may be its coming irrelevance.
Hamas spent most of the last few days repeatedly claiming to have accepted the terms of a Steven Witkoff cease-fire framework. Twice this week, Hamas tried to game negotiations by declaring support for terms not offered, especially a supposed offer to have Israel commit to a "permanent ceasefire" and total withdrawal by the IDF from Gaza. Yesterday, they turned up their noses at the plan that Witkoff actually drew up:
The U.S. has presented Israel and Hamas with a new proposal to pause the fighting in the Gaza Strip, though the militant group has already criticized it for not requiring an end to the 20-month conflict.
The agreement calls for Hamas to release 10 of the roughly 20 hostages Israel believes are still alive and the bodies of another 19 within the first week of the deal in exchange for a 60-day cease-fire and the release of Palestinians held by Israel, according to a draft reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The draft says President Trump would announce the deal if an agreement is reached, and envoy Steve Witkoff would preside over the talks.
The U.S. said Israel has signed off on the proposal. Hamas has said it is studying it, but Hamas officials have criticized its lack of a commitment to halt the fighting or clarify the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
"Criticized" is a rather anodyne description. One source told the Jerusalem Post that Hamas feels "screwed over" by the Trump administration and Witkoff when the deal didn't include either path for Hamas to retain control in Gaza:
An unnamed Hamas official told the BBC on Friday that the terror group is expected to reject the latest hostage deal-ceasefire proposal by US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff.
Hamas said Thursday it does not accept the outline of US envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposed ceasefire and hostage deal at face value and demands certain changes, according to people familiar with the matter.
Hamas feels deceived by the US administration, believing it has been “screwed over” with a pro-Israel proposal that does not guarantee an end to the war, an informed source familiar told The Jerusalem Post.
Hamas sources earlier had told Saudi news outlets that they were considering an acceptance of these terms ... with a few changes. That's the same manipulative pattern that these terrorists have used in every conflict they have started with Israel since seizing control of Gaza in 2006-7. The Hamas Hokey Pokey continues.
But will it matter much longer? A new effort by the US and Israel may make more difference in the Gaza conflict than any military operation. I mentioned this in an earlier post this week, but the rapid success and reaction by the populace to the new US-Israeli aid deliveries in Gaza have the real potential to finally peel Hamas' death grip off the territory:
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a previously unknown Swiss-registered nonprofit backed by American private contractors and facilitated by Israel, began distributing food directly to Gazans on Tuesday under a new model. As of Thursday, around 14,500 food boxes – each containing basic staples able to feed between five and six people for 3.5 days – had been distributed at two locations, with a third distribution point opened that day.
But the story here is not only about the food staples – though they will undoubtedly alleviate hunger in the enclave. The real issue at hand is control. And Hamas knows it, which is why the terrorist group’s reaction was furious.
Hamas warned and threatened people not to participate in the program, circulated false reports that the distribution had been disrupted or suspended, and even set up barriers to make the distribution points in the south – where the IDF has been urging Gazans to move – difficult to access.
All to no avail.
It may have taken 20 years, but the US and Israel have finally taken aim at the core of Hamas' power: control over food and medicine. The West allowed Hamas to seize control of Gaza and its infrastructure in every way possible, especially in food distribution. The UN allowed its own aid organization, UNRWA, to become completely co-opted by Hamas, so much so that Hamas also distributed weapons and propaganda from its facilities in Gaza as well as food. In order to eat in Gaza, one had to support Hamas or at least not openly oppose it. That is why Hamas has, in every conflict, made sure that aid only came through their "official" channels rather than get distributed by independent agencies.
And here's the real point: This can only be done by seizing and holding ground in Gaza. Without an occupation by the IDF, this GHF distribution could not take place, and Hamas would still control the feast-or-famine options for Gazans. The Israelis have shied away from occupying any significant turf in Gaza since the 2005 withdrawal in any of the previous wars that Hamas has started, hoping that the limited and momentary incursions necessary for military action would be enough to eventually destabilize Hamas' grip on the populace. This time, they have decided that the only way to break that grip is to attack it at its main point of strength: the stomachs of the people.
Needless to say, this makes all the right people angry, because it's actually working, at least where the IDF can guarantee security. And Hamas' violent response to it makes clear just how furious they are to lose that control. They are not interested in the welfare of the people; they are only interested in totalitarian control over them and in using them as cannon fodder and human shields.
That's why Hamas finally got around to rejecting the latest proposal from Steven Witkoff today. The Israelis refuse to allow Hamas back into territories that they are now securing and in which they distribute independent aid:
"Following a round of national consultations, and out of our responsibility to our people and their suffering, Hamas today submitted to the mediators its response to the latest proposal by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, in a manner that will lead to a permanent ceasefire, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensuring the flow of aid to our people in the Gaza Strip," Hamas said in a statement.
"As part of this agreement, ten live Israeli hostages, held by the resistance, will be released, in addition to the return of eighteen bodies, in exchange for an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners," the statement concluded.
The original Witkoff proposal did not include a full IDF withdrawal or a permanent ceasefire, meaning the response doesn't answer positively to the terms, and Hamas added terms of its own.
Hamas can't afford to allow the IDF this kind of control. They don't have much leverage left, and they want to play out the string as long as they can to wear down the Israelis and accept the status quo ante of October 6, 2023. But the status quo ante may be unacceptable to a growing number of Gazans now, which means that time is running out for the terrorists.
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