Hassan Al-Warfalli, Agencies (Capitals)
The talks hosted by the French capital, Paris, in order to release detainees and reach a truce in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, achieved some progress, while informed sources spoke of a “new framework” regarding the details of the agreement and the number and identity of the prisoners who will be released within the framework of the potential deal.
The United States, Egypt, and Qatar are participating in mediation efforts. With the aim of reaching a truce and exchanging prisoners and hostages. White House envoy Brett McGurk held talks last week with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv, after meeting other mediators in Cairo.
One source confirmed that the “new framework” stipulates a six-week cessation of fighting, and the release of between 200 to 300 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages held in Gaza.
The Israeli delegation, which included the head of the Mossad, the head of the Shin Bet, and representatives of the Israeli army, returned to Israel at dawn yesterday, and the Israeli military cabinet received an update from the negotiating team to take a decision on additional steps.
Tzachi Hanegbi, National Security Advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed the war cabinet meeting to receive “a briefing from the negotiators who held talks in Paris with mediators regarding a possible truce in Gaza.”
He added to Channel 12 TV that the negotiators believe that their meeting with the Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators necessitated holding a meeting of the Military Cabinet yesterday evening.
This comes as the war continues, twenty weeks after its outbreak, and after the “post-war” plan in Gaza proposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was subjected to major criticism, including by the United States, and was rejected by the Palestinian Authority.
The talks also come at a time of increasing fears for the fate of civilians in the Gaza Strip, with the United Nations warning of the increasing risk of famine, and while the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) pointed out yesterday that the residents of Gaza are “in grave danger while the world watches.”
The Israeli army said it was “intensifying operations” in western Khan Yunis, using tanks, close-range fire, and aircraft.
The charity Save the Children said: “The risk of famine is expected to increase as long as the Israeli government continues to obstruct the entry of aid into Gaza,” as well as access to water, health and other services.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report on Friday that in Rafah, people were reported to be stopping aid trucks to take food, showing how desperate they are.
Within four and a half months, the war led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and pushed about 2.2 million people, the vast majority of the population of the Gaza Strip, to the brink of famine.
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