Durable ceasefire in Gaza seems far away despite spy chiefs' efforts

Israeli commander rules out early end to conflict even as truce talks are held

- Jonathan Eyal Global

LONDON - As the intelligence chiefs from the United States, Israel and key Middle East Arab nations met in the Egyptian capital of Cairo to discuss a durable ceasefire in the Gaza fighting, Israel's top military commander has ruled out an early end to the conflict.

"Our military results are excellent," General Herzl Halevi, Israel's Chief of General Staff, said at a press conference on Feb 13.

"But there is still a long way to go before we can achieve the war goals," he added.

His statement flatly contradicts more positive diplomatic noises coming out of the intelligence chiefs' gathering in Cairo.

The gloomy indicators are borne out by developments on the battlefield, where the Israeli military appears to be in the final preparations of a new and potentially massively destructive offensive on Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, where most of the displaced Palestinians are concentrated.

The outlines of a potential ceasefire deal were hammered out by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who last week concluded his fifth round of Middle East shuttle diplomacy since the current conflict broke out.

The proposals include a pledge by Hamas, the militant Palestinian movement in control of Gaza, to release approximately 130 hostages captured during its Oct 7 attack on Israel in return for the release of around 1,500 Palestinians currently held in Israeli jails, coupled with a cessation of hostilities. Israel says 29 of the hostages are presumed dead.

The key sticking points are how fast the exchange of prisoners should be and for how long the warring parties would remain pledged to a ceasefire.

Hamas wants a permanent cessation of hostilities and proposes a staggered release of hostages to ensure that Israel does not resume its offensive.