Al-Ain news in the UAE recently published an article that included an interview with a key individual who may have insight into what comes next in Gaza.
The interview was with American activist Bishara Bahbah, who has become to be known as “the accidental intermediary,” by the New Arab media source.
In a previous New Arab article, Bahbah was described as “a Palestinian-American academic” who has “emerged as a key back channel intermediary between Hamas and the Trump administration.”
It also said that Bahbah played a primary role in the talks that contributed to the release of Israeli-American Edan Alexander who Hamas had taken hostage.
In the latest interview, Bahbah shed light on the “day after” in Gaza, which is supposed to be happening as the Trump-backed ceasefire deal is implemented.
What can we learn from the interview?
“Bahbah explained the challenges and difficulties facing the political and security landscape on the ground in Gaza, highlighting ‘logistical, not political, reasons’ for Hamas’s delay in receiving the bodies of the Israeli dead,” Al-Ain reported.
“Bahbah revealed the contents of a message he recently received from Hamas as part of his unofficial mediation efforts between the Palestinian and American sides, seeking a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza and ensuring its consolidation on the ground,” it continued.
One challenge with the 20-point plan for Gaza is that it is “vague and riddled with loopholes,” which provides flexibility to both sides.
“At the same time,” the article said, “Bahbah criticized the movement’s execution of a group of civilians in the Gaza Strip without even providing them with fair trials.”
The mediator said, “I recently received a message from Hamas asking me to send a message to the White House. The content of the message related to the ongoing ‘Israeli violations’ on the ground, and they asked me to convey the situation to the American side.”
It is likely this interview took place before the flare-up on Sunday in which two IDF soldiers were killed and the military carried out airstrikes in the enclave.
Bahbah mainly discussed the issues involved in Gaza today. For instance, Hamas is continuing to search for bodies of hostages that it is required to hand over to Israel. Asked about US President Donald Trump’s assertion that the war is over in Gaza, he said, “The war is over, but unfortunately, according to the information I have, more than 28 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire.”
He also said that Hamas has claimed Israel has not fully withdrawn to the “Yellow Line.” This line is supposed to be demarcated.
Additionally, the mediator said, according to Al-Ain, that “Trump has embraced the peace process in Gaza and will not allow it to fail. The side agreement reached between Hamas and the mediators calls for withdrawals according to an unspecified timetable, and additional Israeli withdrawals from the yellow withdrawal line.”
On the other hand, if an international force does finally enter Gaza, then truce violations would be harder to do because of their presence.
Currently, the Rafah crossing is closed and reports are unclear concerning when any kind of new force for Gaza might emerge. Bahbah said that “the US administration is determined to implement the agreement in its entirety, perhaps not as quickly as we had hoped, but it will be implemented as is.”
Nevertheless, he foresees obstacles ahead. One issue is Hamas needing to hand over all the deceased hostages in Gaza. The terrorist group claims the challenge is “logistical,” meaning, apparently, that it needs more time and earth moving equipment to fill its end of the bargain.
The mediator was asked about why this process has taken time. “There are four reasons for the delay in returning the bodies: First, Israel prevented heavy equipment from entering the area to remove the rubble. Some bodies were buried under a seven-story building that Israel completely bombed. That means seven floors of rubble must be removed before any bodies can be found.”
Bahbah added that the presence of unexploded bombs or munitions from the war means reaching sites can be dangerous as well. “Specialists are needed to deal with these bombs.”
Another reason, he said, is the issue of the widespread destruction that makes it hard to find bodies. “Hamas claims that people killed by Israel buried some of the bodies. These individuals alone knew the burial sites, making the process of locating the bodies even more complicated. An attempt is now underway to identify other individuals who might be able to provide guidance”
Then Bahbah talked about the challenge of aid reaching Gaza. He said that Israel’s limiting of the number of trucks entering the enclave is a violation of the agreement signed in Sinai.
“The failure to open the crossings in both directions is another violation. Israel uses the pretext that it has not received all the bodies to justify this breach,” Bahbah said. The problem is in the details of the 20-point plan.
There are many loopholes and lack of clear definitions in it. This lack of clarity about timetables and mechanisms to transition from one phase to another makes things difficult.
“The decision by [Jared] Kushner and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff was to reach a ceasefire agreement first, and then discuss the rest of the details later, and this may have been a mistake.”
Conversely, he said, it was essential to reach the ceasefire.
“Naturally, the first step proposed would be to bring in essential aid, but the reality is that it’s not entering the Gaza Strip as agreed upon. Then comes reconstruction. Israel says that reconstruction will not take place until every Israeli body found in Gaza is recovered. Meanwhile, as we mentioned, there are difficulties and problems facing the retrieval of these bodies. We may need a week or two. No one knows these things.”
Bahbah was also asked about the possible role of former UK prime minister Tony Blair in all of this.
“What I know is that Kushner had been working with Blair on the Gaza reconstruction plan for a long time, and they went to the White House and presented the plan to President Trump, who liked it.”
Then there is the issue of how a government will be formed for Gaza. Will it be a Palestinian technocratic committee or something else?
It appears it may involve Palestinian technocrats and also the “Peace Council” that is supposed to be above that and “possibly an interim committee – an executive committee that would oversee the collection and disbursement of funds for reconstruction.”
There are other topics, such as an international security force for Gaza that may be composed of Arab countries and Palestinian security forces. The Palestinians could be trained in Qatar, Egypt, and Jordan, with the possibility of including forces from Islamic countries such as Indonesia. Israel has objected to the participation of any Turkish troops in this force, the report said.
What about Hamas disarming?
“We discussed this topic, and the truth is that the issue of ‘disarmament’ has not been precisely defined,” Bahbah told Al-Ain.
Does it mean collecting every single weapon from Hamas and the Gaza Strip?
“I heard some clarifications from American officials indicating that the intention is to remove heavy weapons, not individual weapons. If this concept is implemented, it will be easier to implement the arrangements, whereby Hamas hands over heavy weapons to an Arab Palestinian entity, while individual weapons remain in its possession,” the mediator said.
“This might boil down to defining heavy weapons as part of disarmament,” Bahbah continued. “There is also the question of who might go down into the remaining tunnels to make sure the weapons are gone.”
With this in mind, if Hamas disarms, it will want to stay on as a political group. It would need to shift to a new political movement with a new name.
The report indicated that this could involve basically any name, such as “the independence party or the renaissance party, but not under the name Hamas.” Bahbah said he thought most countries support these aspects of the deal.
When asked about videos and reports surfacing about Hamas abuses in Gaza, he said that he believed that the terrorist organization had announced that it had halted its executions. “I hope that no execution will be carried out without a fair trial for anyone in Gaza.”
“Gaza needs comprehensive reconstruction, everything from removing rubble and destruction to building sewage and electricity networks, a port, the possibility of establishing an airport, and more,” Bahbah told Al-Ain.
“Moving quickly toward temporary buildings that can be quickly erected for residents to live in until reconstruction is completed,” should also be on the agenda, he continued.
“These matters are critical to everyone, and the American side attaches great importance to them, because everyone knows that the people of Gaza have suffered more than any other people,” Bahbah said.