NBC’s Hamamdjian: Hamas Wants Longer Ceasefire, Unclear if Israel Wants War to End

On Saturday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Velshi,” NBC News International Correspondent Daniele Hamamdjian discussed talks over a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict and said “Hamas will want assurances that hostilities will not resume after those 60 days,” and “Many will be wondering, does Israel really want the war to end?”

Hamamdjian said, “Israeli media now reporting that the framework of this deal would mean that, on day one, we would see the release of ten living hostages and a number of deceased hostages, and the rest will be released over the course of the 60 days, in exchange, of course, for Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have never been charged. The exchange…will not be as frequent as it was in the last ceasefire. We would see aid going into Gaza, not through GHF, as you just mentioned, but through the U.N. and the Red Crescent. The question is, Ali, what happens after those 60 days? How does the war end?”

She continued, “Many will be wondering, does Israel really want the war to end? Keep in mind that there are some far-right ministers within Benjamin Netanyahu’s government who do not want the war to end. They want to resettle Gaza with Israelis. However, that being said, Israel does see the operation in Iran as a success. Benjamin Netanyahu is less unpopular these days. So, he might be able to get some support he wouldn’t have been able to get to have a month ago. Hamas will want assurances that hostilities will not resume after those 60 days, and they are certainly not going to want a repeat of what happened in the last ceasefire, which is, when we were talking about stage one, two, and three, it was never when stage two happens, but if it ever happens, of course, it did not happen. Israel broke that ceasefire.”

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