ctsats

Hamas has (surprisingly, according to observers) accepted a ceasefire proposal by Egypt and Qatar, which, according to Netanyahu, is "far from meeting Israel's demands"; nevertheless, he is dispatching a delegation to Cairo for further talks.

Matthew Miller, the US state department spokesperson, said Washington would discuss the Hamas response with its allies in the coming hours, and a deal was “absolutely achievable”. The diplomatic pressures to Israel to accept the deal seem immense.

Ultranationalists in the Israeli cabinet oppose the deal, while families and supporters of Israeli hostages have been demonstrating to demand that Israel accepts the deal.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/06/forcibly-displacing-rafah-civilians-would-be-war-france-warns-israel

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68967000

Slight adjustment for passage of time

Passage of time.

Back to minimal non-zero...

Returning to the baseline, after more recent updates:

Saudis push for ‘plan B’ that excludes Israel from key deal with US - The Guardian, May 1, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/may/01/saudi-us-biden-deal-israel

Updating, after recent updates regarding KSA:

Report: Saudi Arabia has decided to normalize relations with Israel - JNS, Apr 30, https://www.jns.org/report-saudi-arabia-has-decided-to-normalize-relations-with-israel/

Saudi Arabia has decided to normalize relations with Israel and is debating the timing of the announcement, a foreign diplomat familiar with the details told Haaretz on Monday.

According to the source cited in the article by the daily’s diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Lis, Riyadh is discussing whether to make the move in the coming weeks or after the U.S. presidential election this November, in which either Democrat Joe Biden will continue to lead the country or his challenger Republican Donald Trump will return to the White House.

“The question is when, and the decision on the timing should be made within days,” the diplomat said.