A small group of Hamas leaders will be allowed to remain in Gaza under a watered-down ceasefire deal, according to reports.
Israel had been pushing for the complete exile of Hamas’s leaders but will now settle for the symbolic expulsion of a few military commanders given there are so few of them left, Axios reported.
“There aren’t many senior Hamas officials left in Gaza. We are not going to need a big ship to send them to exile — even a small dinghy will do,” an Israeli official said.
A senior Hamas security official told the BBC that 95 per cent of Hamas’s leadership had been killed by Israel and that the terror group had lost control over most of the Gaza Strip.
“Let’s be realistic here – there’s barely anything left of the security structure. Most of the leadership, about 95%, are now dead… The active figures have all been killed,” he said. “So really, what’s stopping Israel from continuing this war?”
Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington this morning ahead of a meeting with Donald Trump about ending the war in Gaza. Both leaders expressed hope a deal could be reached this week, despite talks in Qatar on Sunday ending without an agreement.
The Tony Blair Institute was reportedly involved in early discussions around a postwar plan for Gaza that eventually proposed transforming the enclave into a glitzy economic zone, complete with a “Trump Riviera” and an “Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone”.
The plan, outlined in a slide deck seen by the Financial Times, was led by Israeli businessmen and supported by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) financial models.
Although the Tony Blair Institute did not author or endorse the final plan, two of its staff members took part in group chats during its development, according to sources familiar with the project who spoke to the Financial Times.
A document written by TBI staff about postwar Gaza was also reportedly shared in the group chat. The document said the war in Gaza had “created a once-in-a-century opportunity to rebuild Gaza from first principles . . . as a secure, modern prosperous society”.
It pitched Gaza as a future trading hub, featuring artificial islands, a deep-water port connecting it to the India-Middle East-Europe corridor, blockchain-based trade, and low-tax economic zones.
BCG’s final slide deck, which runs to more than 30 pages, differed significantly from a paper written by TBI’s staff.
TBI has distanced itself from the initiative, insisting it had no role in preparing the slide deck. A spokesperson said it was “categorically wrong” to suggest the institute contributed to BCG’s work and said the institute “had no input whatsoever into” the deck’s contents.
“It would be wrong to suggest that we were working with this group to produce their Gaza plan.”
Hamas and Israel were set to resume talks in Qatar on Monday, a Palestinian official has said.
“Indirect negotiations are scheduled to take place before noon today in Doha between the Hamas and Israeli delegations to continue discussions” on the proposal, a Palestinian official told AFP.
It comes after indirect talks between the two sides ended inconclusively on Sunday.
Donald Trump, speaking as Benjamin Netanyahu flew into Washington, said there was a “good chance” of reaching an agreement.
“We’ve gotten a lot of the hostages out, but pertaining to the remaining hostages, quite a few of them will be coming out,” he told journalists.
A new round of talks between Israel and Hamas ended without a ceasefire because Israeli negotiators did not have the power to reach a deal, two Palestinian sources claimed.
The talks resumed in Qatar on Sunday, ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu’s third visit to the White House since Donald Trump returned to power in January.
“After the first session of indirect negotiations in Doha, the Israeli delegation is not sufficiently authorized and is not authorized to reach an agreement with Hamas, as it has no real powers,” the sources said.
Mr Netanyahu said his team had clear instructions to achieve a ceasefire agreement under conditions that Israel had accepted.
Benjamin Netanyahu will today meet with Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for Donald Trump, in Washington.
At around 6pm, Mr Netanyahu will meet with Mr Trump for dinner at the White House.
The Israeli prime minister will the meet with JD Vance, the vice president, and members of Congress on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu will meet with Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, at the Pentagon, before heading back to Israel on Thursday.
Hamas has lost around 80 per cent of its control over the Gaza Strip, with armed clans now filling the void, a senior officer has said.
A lieutenant colonel told the BBC that Hamas’s command and control system had collapsed due to months of Israeli strikes.
“Let’s be realistic here – there’s barely anything left of the security structure. Most of the leadership, about 95%, are now dead… The active figures have all been killed,” he said. “So really, what’s stopping Israel from continuing this war?”
The officer continued: “So, the security situation is zero. Hamas’s control is zero. There’s no leadership, no command, no communication. Salaries are delayed, and when they do arrive, they’re barely usable. Some die just trying to collect them. It’s total collapse.”
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has landed in Washington ahead of his third visit to the White House in six months.
Mr Netanyahu will have dinner with the US president on Monday evening, where the two leaders will discuss bringing about an end to the war in Gaza.
“I believe the discussion with President Trump can certainly help advance these results,” he said before setting off from Israel.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump said he believed a hostage release and ceasefire deal could be reached this week, which could lead to the release of “quite a few hostages”.
Israel attacked Houthi targets in three Yemeni ports and a power plant early on Monday, marking the first Israeli attack on Yemen in almost a month.
The strikes on Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif ports, and Ras Qantib power plant were due to repeated Houthi attacks on Israel, the military said.
Hours after the strikes, the Israeli military said two missiles were launched from Yemen. It is not yet clear whether they had been intercepted.
The Israeli ambulance service said it had not received any calls regarding missile impacts or casualties following the launches from Yemen.
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage.
We will bring you the latest after Israel and Hamas resumed indirect talks on securing a ceasefire in Gaza.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has arrived in Washington for his third visit of Donald Trump’s second term.
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Israel-Gaza war latest: Plans to exile Hamas leaders watered down – The Telegraph
