(Jerusalem) Hopes for a truce in the Gaza Strip associated with the release of hostages were reborn on Monday after almost seven months of war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken said on Monday that he “hoped” for a favorable response from Hamas to a proposal that he described as “extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel”.
A meeting is planned for Monday in Cairo between representatives of Egypt and Qatar – mediator countries with the United States – and Hamas, which must give its response to this proposal negotiated between Israel and Egypt.
“A very generous offer of a 40-day ceasefire, the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of these hostages” was made to Hamas, the head of British diplomacy, David, declared Monday in Riyadh. Cameron, speaking before a meeting of the World Economic Forum.
“It is absolutely necessary that any ceasefire be permanent and not temporary,” said Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhane, saying he “supports the release of all the hostages.”
Previously, Mr. Blinken told Hamas: “They have to make a decision, and they have to do it quickly (…) I hope they make the right decision.”
After Saudi Arabia, Mr. Blinken is expected in Israel on Tuesday, as part of a new tour of the Middle East intended to promote a truce in the Palestinian territory, besieged and plunged into a major humanitarian crisis.
Mr. Blinken also reiterated his country’s opposition to an Israeli offensive on the overcrowded town of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, which has become a huge refugee camp housing nearly a million and a half Palestinians in catastrophic sanitary conditions.
“We have not yet seen a plan that allows us to believe that civilians can be effectively protected,” he told a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.
According to doctors and Civil Defense, Israeli strikes on several houses left 22 people dead overnight in this city.
“We ask the whole world to call for a lasting truce, that is enough,” said a man, Abou Taha, who was watching over relatives killed at al-Najjar hospital in Rafah.
Heat and mosquitoes
After having endured the cold of winter, the displaced families are now suffering the heat which rises at the end of April, without running water, barely protected from the sun under the canvases of the tents.
“The water we drink is hot,” testified Ranine Aouni al-Arian, a mother displaced from the neighboring town of Khan Younes.
“Children can no longer stand the heat and the bites of flies and mosquitoes,” she explains. Her baby, whom she holds in her arms, has a face covered in bites.
“We are living in real hell,” Hanane Saber, a 41-year-old displaced person, also told AFP.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) warned that “waste continued to accumulate” and that “running water was becoming scarce”. “As temperatures warm, the risk of disease spread increases,” the agency added.
Despite the disapproval of many capitals and humanitarian organizations, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, affirms that an offensive on Rafah is necessary to defeat Hamas and free the hostages held in Gaza since the start of the war on October 7.
“Permanent ceasefire”
Egypt said on Monday that it was “hopeful” in a truce after a week-long truce at the end of November, saying that the proposal on the table was “attempting to show moderation”.
“It is too early to speak of a positive atmosphere in the negotiations,” Zaher Jabareen, a member of the Hamas political bureau and the negotiating team, told AFP.
The movement is “in a phase of consultations” before giving its response, he added, reiterating Hamas’ demands, starting with “a permanent ceasefire” in Gaza, a hypothesis that Israel has always refused.
Hamas also calls for “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, 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.
“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 34,488 dead, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health, which counted 34 dead in 24 hours on Monday.
In addition to Rafah, bombings targeted the Palestinian camp of Nousseirat on Monday, in the center of the Gaza Strip, according to AFP images, as well as the city of Gaza (north).
On Sunday in Riyadh, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on Washington to prevent Israel from launching an offensive against Rafah.
“If there is an agreement (truce), we will suspend the operation in Rafah,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israeli channel N12 on Saturday.
“If there is a possibility of reaching an agreement, we will do it,” he added.
reference: www.lapresse.ca