The mainstream media’s favorite headline is making the rounds again this morning, with multiple outlets repeating claims from Hamas spokesmen that a deal for a truce with Israel and a hostage exchange is “close.” As usual, Qatar is handling the negotiations, and Hamas claims to have delivered a response to the latest offer. No details were offered, however, in terms of how many hostages might be released or how long any ceasefire might last. It is also unclear who was proposing the deal from Israel’s side or if Netanyahu’s government was even involved in the negotiations. Nothing much has changed in Gaza, with Israel continuing to engage Hamas fighters in the north and brief pauses for the delivery of humanitarian aid being observed. (NY Post)

The chief of Hamas said the group is near a potential truce with Israel that would bring a pause to the country’s relentless airstrikes on Gaza in exchange for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Palestinian territory.

Officials for the Palestinian terror group are “close to reaching a truce agreement” with the Israeli government as the parties negotiate through Qatari mediators, an aide for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told Reuters in a statement.

The aide divulged little details about the reported agreement but said Hamas has delivered its response to the Qatari mediators.

The few suggestions as to what such a deal could involve are all coming from an unnamed Hamas official speaking to Al Jazeera TV, so you are free to assign whatever level of credibility to this that you wish. They suggested that the “prisoner exchange” would involve “women and children” held by Hamas, presumably in exchange for Hamas militant fighters. In other words, Hamas would continue to hold on to male hostages while the Hamas fighters would be free to return to the field of battle and continue attacking Israel. The “truce” would only involve the IDF standing down since they’re the ones on the offense right now.

It really doesn’t sound like this proposal came from Netanyahu’s government because it’s totally not in keeping with what he’s been saying and doing thus far. The Prime Minister has repeatedly said that there would be no ceasefire without the complete release of all the hostages. And even then, he still hasn’t wavered from his commitment to fully destroy Hamas to remove future threats to Israel. If the proposal didn’t come from Bibi or one of his ministers, who is negotiating on behalf of Israel, and why should they honor such an offer?

We should also not lose sight of the fact that Hamas lies constantly. It’s impossible to assign much credibility to anything their supposed spokespeople say. They want nothing more than a respite from Israel’s advancing attacks. They’re losing more fighters every day and they may be finally recognizing the reality that end could truly be near. If a “deal” can be reached to give them time to regroup and consolidate their supplies, they likely see a chance to live to fight another day. That’s not in Israel’s best interests no matter what is put on the table.

Don’t get me wrong. Any situation that results in the release of any of the hostages would be welcome. But terrorists should never be rewarded for taking hostages because it only inspires them to take more in the future. If Hamas turns out to actually be willing to release a significant number of captives and Israel is willing to stand down for a few days, I suppose that could be okay. But fundamentally, nothing has really changed. Hamas could end all of this tomorrow by surrendering en masse and releasing all of the captives, but that’s not going to happen. Hamas needs to be utterly destroyed. And if Israel has to level most of the Gaza Strip to manage that, it will be unfortunate for many, but that’s how it will have to play out.