How Syrians can pursue justice, fast-track peace in post-conflict era

Over the course of Syria's 13-year civil war, countless people were killed, displaced, or disappeared by the Assad regime and its militia allies, fueling impatient calls for justice. (AFP photos)
Short Url
Updated 16 February 2025
Follow

How Syrians can pursue justice, fast-track peace in post-conflict era

  • Violence in rural Homs, Hama and coastal provinces flares as new authorities target “Assad regime remnants” in security sweeps
  • Experts urge a transitional justice process, modeled on South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, going forward

LONDON: While thousands across the Syrian Arab Republic celebrated the fall of Bashar Assad on Dec. 8, others were fearful of the retribution they would likely face for their ties to the ousted regime. For many, those fears are quickly realized.

The Syrian people endured immense suffering over the course of the nation’s 13-year civil war, with countless killed, displaced, or disappeared by the regime and its militia allies, fueling impatient calls for justice.

As a result, areas of rural Homs and the Mediterranean coast with high densities of Alawites — the ethno-religious group from which the Assad family traced its roots and drew much of its support — have seen mounting instability.

Reports of sectarian killings began to emerge as the interim government carried out security sweeps, while armed men, reportedly seeking revenge against those they deemed responsible for the years of bloodshed, have taken the law into their own hands.

Karam Shaar, a senior fellow at the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy, believes the interim government in Damascus faces a significant challenge of balancing accountability with social cohesion and stability.




 Surge in revenge attacks and criminality since Assad’s overthrow prompts call for transitional justice effort. (AFP)

The new leaders “fully understand that pursuing accountability head-on at this point, given the fragile security situation, could lead to a resurgence of extremist groups, paramilitary militias, and territorial factions,” Shaar told Arab News.

In early December, as rebel forces led by the militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham advanced into Homs before going on to topple the Assad regime, tens of thousands of Alawites fled the central province to the Syrian coast, fearing reprisals.

Camille Otrakji, a Syrian-Canadian analyst, says the exodus of Alawites to their heartland on the Mediterranean coast “has led many to question whether this phase constitutes a low-intensity ethnic cleansing project aimed at relocating Alawites exclusively to the coastal region.”

“While Christians in Aleppo and Alawites in the coastal region of Syria are less frequently subjected to human rights abuses, those in central Syria (Homs and Hama governorates) are the ones who bear the brunt of the punishment,” Otrakji told Arab News.




Syrian Christians attend mass at the Saint Mary Church of the Holy Belt in Homs on December 20, 2024. (AFP)

As fear of retribution and sectarian violence spread through the Alawite community and other ethnoreligious groups, Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa pledged in late December that his administration would protect the country’s diverse sects and minority groups.

However, as of Feb. 7, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, has documented 128 retaliatory killings across 11 provinces since the start of 2025 alone — with Homs leading the toll, followed by Hama.

Alawites, a Muslim sect who constitute around 10 percent of Syria’s population, are at particular risk of collective punishment — including for those who opposed Assad.

During the 50-year rule of Bashar and his father Hafez, Alawites formed the backbone of the regime, with around 80 percent of them working for the state — many in intelligence, security, or the military, according to the Washington Institute.

After Assad’s ouster and the rebel coalition’s capture of Damascus in December, interim authorities moved to curb the spread of arms, urging former conscripts and soldiers to surrender their weapons.




Soldiers and police officers of the fallen Assad regime line up on December 17, 2024, to register at a center in Daraa created by victorious opposition forces to settle their status and surrender their weapons. (AFP)

However, many have chosen to hold on to these weapons — in many cases for self defense. In response, security forces launched an operation in Homs in January to capture “remnants of Assad’s militias.”

The operation followed clashes in Alawite neighborhoods, sparked by an old video that resurfaced in December, showing rebels burning the shrine of the Alawite sect’s founder.

Quoting a security official, state news agency SANA said on Jan. 2 that the security campaign targeted “war criminals and those involved in crimes who refused to hand over their weapons.”




Fighters affiliated with Syria's new administration check people's identification at a makeshift checkpoint after closing a road leading to the Alawite-majority Mazzeh 86 neighbourhood in western Damascus on December 26, 2024. (AFP)

While security forces were conducting raids in rural Homs, members of the Alawite community shared videos on social media showing militants, reportedly linked to HTS, beating and abusing Alawites in Homs and in coastal areas while hurling sectarian insults.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated that within a month of Assad’s ouster, at least 160 Alawites were killed in raids and sectarian attacks.

In a recent incident documented by the war monitor, “unidentified gunmen” opened fire on civilians at the Baniyas-Jabaleh junction in the coastal region, killing a former officer and a worker.




A fighter affiliated with Syria's new administration bayonets a portrait of toppled president Bashar al-Assad at the defunct Mezzeh military prison in Damascus on January 2, 2025. (AFP)

Similarly, in rural Homs, factions linked to the new administration reportedly raided the village of Al-Dabin, attacked a civilian home and killed a young man.

Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, said that as social media and word of mouth spread reports of killings, robberies, and kidnappings, “lawlessness, particularly in the Alawite villages around Homs and Hama, is causing near hysteria within the community.”

“Many Alawites are demanding justice,” he told Arab News. “They understand that the Assad regime committed terrible atrocities, particularly in the prisons, but they fear that the wrong people are being killed in random attacks and revenge killings.”




An Alawite Syrian, who had fled to Lebanon, sits with a neighbor and family members in front of his severely damaged home, after returning to the Baba Amr neighbourhood in Homs, on Jan. 8, 2025. (AFP)

He added: “One of the primary reasons for animosity toward the new government of President Al-Sharaa within the Alawite community is the lawlessness now overtaking the coastal region.”

Shaar of the New Lines Institute says the perceived delay in tackling this lawlessness might be due to the need to first establish the state’s monopoly on the use of force during this transitional period.

“I think the caretaker government is prioritizing stabilizing security, consolidating power, and establishing a monopoly on force, as any state should, before addressing these violations,” he said.

Referring to the new authorities, he added: “I still don’t see their vision, and maybe we shouldn’t expect one this early. Perhaps it does take time.

“In that sense, it’s understandable for them to wait before developing a vision for accountability, given the magnitude and sheer scale of the violations that occurred during the conflict.”

However, the situation is likely to escalate as Alawites are pushed out of key state roles and public sector jobs under the new government’s plan to cut a third of its workforce. With lost livelihoods, hunger is already widespread in Alawite areas.

“Many Alawites have lost their jobs or fear being pushed out of their jobs as purges are being carried out in government ministries,” said Landis. “Of course, the military, police force, and intelligence services were packed with Alawites.”

Fighters affiliated with the interim government have allegedly carried out summary executions in Homs. In late January, Syrian authorities accused members of a “criminal group” of “posing as members of the security services” and abusing residents, according to SANA.




Fighters affiliated with Syria's new administration take part in an operation to track down members of ousted president Bashar Assad's paramilitary forces in the central city of Homs on January 2, 2025. (Photo by SANA / AFP) 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the new authorities have arrested “dozens of members of local armed groups” who participated in the security operations in Homs.

Their arrest came after 35 people, mostly Assad-era officers, were summarily executed within 72 hours, according to the war monitor.

These groups “carried out reprisals and settled old scores with members of the Alawite minority … taking advantage of the state of chaos, the proliferation of arms and their ties to the new authorities,” it said.

In addition, the war monitor listed “mass arbitrary arrests, atrocious abuse, attacks against religious symbols, mutilations of corpses, summary and brutal executions targeting civilians” among the “unprecedented level of cruelty and violence.”




A local guides journalists visiting the ruins of the "French" Tadmor Prison, formerly used by the Assad government and destroyed by Daesh group militants in 2015, in Syria's central city of Palmyra on February 7, 2025. After the fall of the regime, members of Assad's Alawite sect are bearing the brunt of reprisals. (AFP)

These crimes demand an urgent transitional justice process to help prevent further bloodshed and division. However, unless the various armed groups are integrated into the Syrian Ministry of Defense, the security situation will likely continue to escalate.

“The new government must get control of the many militias that are not directly under government control,” said Landis. “They must also build their police forces so that they can bring some accountability to the countryside and stop crime.”

He added: “Even more important than a proper police force is a justice system that can provide the equality and accountability that President Al-Sharaa has been so eloquent in proclaiming will define the new Syria.”




Syria's interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa visits locals at a camp sheltering people displaced by the country's civil war in the northwestern city of Idlib on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Syrian Presidency Telegram Page / AFP)

On Jan. 30, in his first state address as president, Al-Sharaa vowed to “pursue the criminals who shed Syrian blood and committed massacres and crimes,” in addition to working to form an inclusive transitional government.

As Syria’s new leader “seeks historical recognition as the architect of a transformed and improved Syria,” he “must demonstrate his ability to curtail the influence of his armed militias,” said analyst Otrakji.

Al-Sharaa “recognizes that establishing and maintaining favorable relations with influential global powers and moderate Arab nations is crucial for achieving success,” he said.




Syrian Arab Republic's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (center R) speaking with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, before their meeting in Damascus on January 24, 20. (SANA photo via REUTERS)

“These nations have expressed their hope that Syria under his leadership will provide a secure environment for its minorities and uphold their rights as equal citizens.”

Al-Sharaa’s main challenge, however, “is that tens of thousands of armed men wielding significant power in the new Syria are not necessarily motivated by the same goals as their leader,” said Otrakji.

“Their objectives vary widely. Some are driven by a desire to purge Syria of ‘heretic’ sects. Others aim to impose strict moral codes, including regulating women’s attire. Some seek to seize the property — whether homes or mobile phones — of Alawite villagers, while others revel in the daily opportunity to humiliate them.”

The international community warns that peace and lasting security in post-Assad Syria requires the adoption of transitional justice, strengthening the rule of law, and holding free, fair elections to form a legitimate government.

“It’s not easy to have a genuine accountability process that is fair and inclusive, but that also ignores their own violations,” said Syrian analyst Shaar, referring to the new authorities.

“Someone might say: ‘It’s good we’re talking about this, but tell me about the disappeared in HTS areas, or about extrajudicial killings.’ If you open that door, where do you stop?”

Although transitional justice would be a very complex process, it is likely the only path to stabilizing Syria.

“Transitional justice seeks to help societies recover from widespread abuse and systematic repression, prioritizing victims and their interests while ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable through a fair and transparent process — without it becoming a tool for revenge or perpetuating new injustices,” Harout Ekmanian, a public international lawyer at Foley Hoag LLP in New York, told Arab News. 

“Post-conflict Syria has a range of transitional justice mechanisms it can implement,” Ekmanian added, citing criminal trials, truth commissions, security sector reforms, reparations, and memorial initiatives for victims.

Implementing these mechanisms successfully “requires the active leadership of the state, working in close collaboration with the legal community, human rights organizations, and victims or their representatives,” he said.




Representatives of Syrian civil society brainstorm in the courtyard of a traditional house in Old Damascus on January 6, 2025, on strategies to ensure their country does not return to authoritarianism. (AFP)

Ekmanian, who is originally from Aleppo, added: “Community awareness campaigns should accompany these efforts to educate the public on the concept of transitional justice and its role in fostering reconciliation and building a stable future.

“This would help manage public expectations. These campaigns should promote a discourse that encourages cooperation among all parties rather than fostering division or demonizing any group.”

The international community has called for the creation of a national transitional justice committee to document violations, offer psychological and social support to victims, and promote social reconciliation.

This committee could model the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a proven conflict resolution model that followed the end of apartheid, to help Syria confront its past and build a future of justice and accountability.

Ekmanian said such commissions investigate past human rights violations and recommend pathways to justice.




Pictures of 23 local Syrians who died in Saydnaya and other Assad-regime prisons are displayed during a memorial service for them in Jaramana in the Damascus countryside on the city's outskirts on December 21, 2024. (AFP)

“However, they go a step further by actively fostering reconciliation between victims and perpetrators,” he said. “They often incorporate restorative justice elements, such as public apologies, amnesty provisions, and dialogue processes, to help heal societal divisions.”

Truth and reconciliation commissions “could play a crucial role in gathering the narratives of victims and society, helping to establish the truth about a range of mass abuses,” including “the atrocities committed in Assad’s prisons, the torture, the sieges and indiscriminate bombings of civilian areas, chemical massacres, corruption, and last but not least, the fate of thousands of forcibly disappeared individuals.

“However, as with any transitional justice mechanism, the work of truth and reconciliation committees must be balanced with the need to maintain communal peace and stability,” he added. 

The new government’s appointment of leaders from a single political, religious, and sectarian group has raised skepticism among Syrians about its ability to pursue an inclusive transition.

Moreover, a history of deep sectarian divides and vengeance across the region presents a significant challenge to a truth and reconciliation process.

Otrakji said: “Regrettably, the pervasive sentiment of revenge deeply ingrained in the collective psyche of the Middle East and the Mediterranean poses a significant challenge to the possibility of a South African-inspired truth and reconciliation process in healing the deep-seated wounds of Syria’s protracted history of conflict.”
 

 


Dua Lipa, public figures urge UK to end Israel arms sales

Updated 29 May 2025
Follow

Dua Lipa, public figures urge UK to end Israel arms sales

  • Actors, musicians, activists appeal to PM to ‘end Britain’s complicity in horrors in Gaza’

LONDON: Pop star Dua Lipa joined some 300 UK celebrities in signing an open letter on Thursday urging Britain to halt arms sales to Israel, after similar pleas from lawyers and writers.

Actors, musicians, activists, and other public figures wrote the letter calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “end the UK’s complicity in the horrors in Gaza.”

British Albanian pop sensation Dua Lipa has been vocal  about the war in Gaza and last year criticized Israel’s  offensive as a “genocide.”

Other signatories include actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, and Riz Ahmed, as well as musicians Paloma Faith, Annie Lennox, and 
Massive Attack.

“You can’t call it ‘intolerable’ and keep sending arms,” read the letter to Labour leader Starmer, organized by Choose Love, a UK-based humanitarian aid and refugee advocacy charity.

Sports broadcaster Gary Lineker, who stepped down from his role at the BBC after a social media post that contained anti-Semitic imagery, also signed the letter.

Signatories urged the UK to ensure “full humanitarian access across Gaza,” broker an “immediate and permanent ceasefire,” and “immediately suspend” all arms sales to Israel.

“The children of Gaza cannot wait another minute. Prime Minister, what will you choose? Complicity in war 
crimes, or the courage to act?,” the letter continued.

Earlier this month, Starmer slammed Israel’s “egregious” renewed military offensive in Gaza and promised to take “further concrete actions” if it did not stop — without detailing what the actions could be.

Last September, the UK government suspended 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel, saying there was a “clear risk” they could be used to breach humanitarian law.

Global outrage has grown after Israel ended a ceasefire in March and stepped up military operations this month, killing thousands of people in a span of two months, according to figures by the Health Ministry.

The humanitarian situation has also sparked alarm and fears of starvation after a two-month blockade on aid entering the devastated territory.
Over 800 UK lawyers, including Supreme Court justices, and some 380 British and Irish writers warned of Israel committing a “genocide” in Gaza in open letters this week.

Israel’s military offensive launched in response to the October 2023 attack has killed 54,084, mostly civilians, in Gaza according to its health ministry, displaced nearly the entire population and ravaged swaths of the besieged strip.


Lebanon takes border measures in coordination with Damascus to curb smuggling

Updated 29 May 2025
Follow

Lebanon takes border measures in coordination with Damascus to curb smuggling

  • Discussed developments on the Lebanon-Syria border and ways to enhance cooperation to control it and prevent smuggling operations
  • UNIFIL commander says situation along the Blue Line is tense as ‘violations’ continue

BEIRUT: Lebanese and Syrian delegations met in Damascus this week to discuss procedures for controlling cross-border smuggling, especially drug trafficking.

The Syrian Interior Ministry announced that both sides discussed developments on the Lebanon-Syria border and ways to enhance cooperation to control it and prevent smuggling operations.

It said that Maj. Gen. Ahmed Latouf, assistant minister for police affairs, on Tuesday evening met with a Lebanese army delegation headed by Brig. Gen. Michel Boutros.

Chief of the Syrian army’s general staff, Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Naasan and Boutros had previously held a meeting to enhance military coordination between the two countries.

In a statement released by the Syrian Arab News Agency, the interior ministry said the meeting between Naasan and Boutros was part of a series of ongoing discussions between them.

According to the release, the chief of operations in Syria also attended the talks.

A Lebanese military source said that the Lebanese army was enhancing its presence along the land border with Syria and maintaining strict control over areas known for smuggling, noting that similar measures were being taken on the Syrian side.

Two days ago, Hamish Cowell, the UK ambassador to Lebanon, said on X that he had visited the eastern border of Lebanon with Syria the previous week. During his visit, he observed how the Lebanese army’s new forward operating bases supported counter-smuggling efforts and improved border security.

The ambassador commended the soldiers of the Land Border Regiment for their efforts in defending Lebanon, emphasizing that UK support is ongoing.

The UK had previously provided watchtowers to help secure the borders.

The Lebanese army command had clarified to the Syrian side that the watchtowers were to monitor the border, prevent the infiltration of terrorists, and control the smuggling of people, drugs, weapons, and contraband from and into Lebanon.

The army added that equipment installed in the towers was exclusively connected to the Lebanese military command and that cameras were aimed to monitor Lebanese rather than Syrian territory.

The purpose was to observe the movement of people and vehicles outside official border crossings and to prevent infiltration and smuggling activities on the Lebanese side of the border.

Lebanon shares a border with Syria that extends over 350 kilometers, threading through towns, villages, rugged terrain, and mountainous areas.

Much of this border is unmarked, allowing for the smuggling of people, goods, fuel, weapons, ammunition, wanted individuals, and stolen vehicles.

Hezbollah manages dozens of crossings, because the areas around these crossings are supportive environments for the party.

The Lebanese government has identified 136 illegal border crossings between Lebanon and Syria, a number that increased during the Syrian war. In comparison, there are only six official border crossings between the two countries, which are in the northern and eastern regions.

The Army Command announced on Thursday, the day after the Damascus meeting, that it had thwarted an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of drugs and fuel in the area between Yahfoufa and Baalbek. Nine suspects were arrested.

Army units detained 26 Syrians illegally present in the Bekaa region, along with a Lebanese citizen in the Arsal-Baalbek highlands who was trying to smuggle fuel and other materials.

On Lebanon’s southern border, Israeli breaches of Lebanese sovereignty continued.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on his X account that an air force aircraft struck the Mount Shaqif area, eliminating a Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon.

The operative was reportedly attempting to reconstruct a site that had previously been used by Hezbollah for fire control and defense.

He said such activity at the site constituted a violation of the understanding between Israel and Lebanon and has been targeted several times in recent weeks.

Adraee said that the army would continue to act to eliminate any threat to Israel.

The warning came as the Lebanese Ministry of Health confirmed the death of “a martyr in an Israeli drone strike … in Nabatieh Al-Fawqa.”

Maj. Gen. Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, the head of mission and force commander of UNIFIL, said that the situation along the Blue Line is tense as a result of ongoing violations and significant risks, and any mistake could lead to serious consequences.

On International Day of UN Peacekeepers, he said: “We welcome the calm that has prevailed since November, but weapons still roar and the challenges remain significant.”

Israeli forces, which still occupy five hills in the Lebanese border area, advanced on Monday night toward Mays Al-Jabal in a serious land breach and set up earthen barriers in the area.

The Lebanese army contacted the five-member committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement and then the next day proceeded to remove the newly erected barrier.


Israel says intercepts missile from Yemen after air raid warning

Updated 29 May 2025
Follow

Israel says intercepts missile from Yemen after air raid warning

  • “A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted,” the army said
  • It comes two days after Israel it intercepted a missile and another projectile

JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen on Thursday after air raid sirens sounded in the center of the country, with explosions heard over Jerusalem.

“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted,” the army said in a statement.

It comes two days after Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile and another projectile fired from Yemen, which Iran-backed Houthi militants said they had fired.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones targeting Israel since the Gaza war broke out in October 2023 following the Hamas attack on Israel.

The Yemeni militants, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians, paused their attacks during a two-month Gaza ceasefire that ended in March, but began them again after Israel resumed its military campaign in the territory.

While most of the projectiles have been intercepted, one missile fired by the group in early May hit the perimeter of Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv for the first time.

Israel has carried out several strikes in Yemen in retaliation for the Houthi attacks, including on ports and the airport in the capital Sanaa.


Israeli strike kills one in south Lebanon: ministry

Updated 29 May 2025
Follow

Israeli strike kills one in south Lebanon: ministry

  • The ministry said an “Israeli enemy strike” hit a forested area in Nabatiyeh Al-Fawqa
  • The Israeli army said it stuck “a Hezbollah terrorist” in southern Lebanon

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on the country’s south killed one man on Thursday, with Israel saying it struck a member of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The attack came despite a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese armed group.

The ministry said an “Israeli enemy strike” hit a forested area in Nabatiyeh Al-Fawqa, killing one man.

The Israeli army said it stuck “a Hezbollah terrorist” in southern Lebanon, alleging he was working to restore a site used to manage the group’s “fire and defense array.”

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the man was a “municipal employee” who had been rehabilitating wells when his motorcycle was struck.

Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon despite the November truce that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of open war.

Under the deal, only UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army are meant to operate in the south, though Israel maintains a presence in five areas it deems strategic.

Lebanon has urged the international community to pressure Israel to halt its attacks and withdraw its forces.


Israel accepts ceasefire plan for Gaza, US says, Hamas reviewing

This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows destroyed buildings in territory.
Updated 29 May 2025
Follow

Israel accepts ceasefire plan for Gaza, US says, Hamas reviewing

  • New York Times quoted Israeli official as saying the initial phase would include a 60-day ceasefire and humanitarian aid flowing through UN-run operations

WASHINGTON/UNITED NATIONS/CAIRO: Israel has agreed to a US ceasefire proposal for Gaza, the White House said on Thursday, and Hamas said it was reviewing it as a US-backed system for distributing food aid in the shattered enclave expanded.

Israeli media reported earlier that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted a deal presented by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.

Netanyahu’s office did not confirm the reports, but White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters in Washington that Israel had signed off on the proposal.

She did not detail its contents. But the New York Times quoted an Israeli official familiar with the proposal as saying the initial phase would include a 60-day ceasefire and humanitarian aid flowing through UN-run operations.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, “is studying the amended Witkoff proposal with a high sense of responsibility, stemming from interest to achieve the interests of our people and ensure an end to the aggression,” a Hamas official told Reuters.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private group backed by the United States and endorsed by Israel, expanded its aid distribution to a third site on Thursday.

Heavily criticized by the United Nations and other aid groups as inadequate and flawed, the group’s operation began this week in Gaza, where the UN has said 2 million people are at risk of famine after Israel’s 11-week blockade on aid entering the enclave.

The aid launch was marred by tumultuous scenes on Tuesday when thousands of Palestinians rushed distribution points and forced private security contractors to retreat.

The chaotic start to the operation has raised international pressure on Israel to get more food in and halt the fighting in Gaza. GHF has so far supplied about 1.8 million meals and plans to open more sites in the coming weeks.

Witkoff told reporters on Wednesday that Washington was close to “sending out a new term sheet” about a ceasefire to the two sides in the conflict that has raged since October 2023.

“I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution, of that conflict,” Witkoff said then.

It was unclear how the proposal might overcome the deep differences between Hamas and Israel that have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March after only two months.

Israel has insisted that Hamas disarm completely and be dismantled as a military and governing force and that all the 58 hostages still held in Gaza must be returned before it will agree to end the war.

Hamas has rejected the demand to give up its weapons and says Israel must pull its troops out of Gaza and commit to ending the war.

Israel has come under increasing international pressure, with many European countries that have normally been reluctant to criticize it openly demanding an end to the war and a major relief effort.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the devastating attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

The campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and left the enclave in ruins.