A Hamas delegation is due to discuss Monday in Cairo with representatives of Egypt and Qatar a truce proposal associated with the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, where deadly Israeli strikes have targeted the town of Rafah in particular. .
Alongside these negotiations, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, during a new tour of the Middle East to promote a truce after almost seven months of war in the Palestinian territory, which will lead also in Israel.
In Cairo, a meeting is planned between Egypt, Qatar, two of the mediator countries with the United States, and Hamas, which must give its response to a new truce proposal negotiated between Israel and Egypt, after months of fruitless discussions.
“It is too early to speak of a positive atmosphere in the negotiations. The movement has received the Israeli response and is in a consultation phase to respond to it,” Zaher Jabareen, a member of the Hamas political bureau and the team of negotiators expected in the Egyptian capital, told AFP.
“Permanent ceasefire”
This official reiterated the demands of the Islamist movement, starting with a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a hypothesis that Israel has always refused to consider.
“The possibility of success or failure will be determined by the ability to reach a decision on a permanent ceasefire, an (Israeli) withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced, a clear timetable for the start of reconstruction and an exchange agreement that removes all injustice towards Palestinian detainees, men and women,” he said.
According to media reports, the Israeli war cabinet initially demanded the release of 40 hostages held in Gaza since the start of the war on October 7, before authorizing negotiators to lower this number.
The American news site Axios indicated that Israel was demanding the release, on humanitarian grounds, of women, civilians or soldiers, and men over 50 or in poor health.
According to Axios, Hamas claims that only 20 hostages meet these criteria. The site adds that the number of days of truce would be equal to that of the hostages released.
According to an AFP correspondent in the Gaza Strip, witnesses and Civil Defense, several houses were hit overnight by bombings in the center of the territory as well as in Rafah, in the south.
At least 22 people were killed, according to doctors and civil defense, in this city which has become a refuge for nearly a million and a half Palestinians, the vast majority displaced, where Israel says it wants to launch a ground offensive.
Two other strikes killed seven people in the northern city of Gaza, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
“Prevent a crime”
The war was launched on October 7 when Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza carried out an unprecedented attack in southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,170 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP report established from official Israeli data.
More than 250 people have been kidnapped and 129 remain captive in Gaza, 34 of whom have died according to Israeli officials.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, which it considers a terrorist organization, along with the United States and the European Union. Its offensive in Gaza left 34,454 dead, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
As part of diplomatic efforts to end the war, Antony Blinken is expected this week in Israel, where he last visited in March, as well as in Jordan.
The secretary of state arrived in Riyadh on Monday, where a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting on the conflict is being held.
Invited to the event, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, on Sunday called on Washington to prevent Israel from launching an offensive against Rafah. “America is the only country capable of stopping Israel from committing this crime,” he said.
“If there is an agreement (truce), we will suspend the operation in Rafah,” however, declared Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Saturday to Israeli channel N12.
“If there is a possibility of reaching an agreement, we will do it,” he added.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, affirms that an offensive on Rafah is necessary to free the hostages and defeat Hamas, which according to Israel has grouped four battalions in this border town with Egypt, transformed into a huge refugee camp.
Many capitals and humanitarian organizations fear a bloodbath in the event of an offensive on Rafah, which is also the main entry point for humanitarian aid into the territory, besieged by Israel and plunged into a major humanitarian crisis.
Faced with difficulties in delivering aid by road, particularly to northern Gaza, several countries are participating in airdrop operations, while the United States has begun to build a floating dock facing the coast which should be operational within “two to three weeks,” according to Washington.
During a telephone exchange on Sunday, MM. Biden and Netanyahu “discussed an increase in the delivery of humanitarian aid” to Gaza, “including preparations for the opening this week of new crossing points in the north” of the coastal territory, according to the House -White.
reference: www.lapresse.ca