The hope of a ceasefire in Gaza, where the Israeli army stepped up its operations against Hamas on Thursday, is in retreat despite US pressure on Israeland the Palestinian Islamist movement to reach an agreement.
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A new round of negotiations between Israel and US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators is due to open this week in Cairo – although the date has not yet been confirmed – to try to put an end to a devastating war that has lasted for more than ten months.
The President of the United States, Joe Bideninsisted on Wednesday on the urgency of reaching a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas, during a telephone conversation with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahuaccording to the White House.
The red lines that Israel and Hamas demand for negotiations
However, Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli leader was seeking to achieve “all the objectives of the war” that was triggered on October 7 by the Islamist Hamas movement’s attack in southern Israel.
This requires, according to the same source, “securing the southern border” of the Palestinian territory, in reference to the Philadelphia corridor, a 14-kilometer strip along the border between Gaza and Egypt.
Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, rejects the continued presence of Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip and accuses the United States of including this condition in its latest truce proposal last week, the details of which have not been made public.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a tour of the Middle East on Wednesday. The diplomat stressed that Washington opposes “a long-term occupation of Gaza by Israel,” after saying that Netanyahu had accepted the US proposal.
According to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth AhronothBlinken made a mistake in saying that Netanyahu had accepted it.
The United States is racing against time to achieve a truce
White House Middle East Coordinator Brett McGurk traveled to Cairo to find a solution to the Philadelphia Corridor issue.
“Reports that the prime minister has agreed to Israel’s withdrawal from the Philadelphia corridor are inaccurate,” said Israeli government spokesman David Mencer.
Reports that the prime minister agreed to Israel’s withdrawal from the Philadelphia corridor are inaccurate
Netanyahu has repeated that he will continue the war until Hamas is destroyed.considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union.
The Islamist movement is demanding the implementation of the plan announced on May 31 by Biden, which provides for a six-week truce along with an Israeli withdrawal from the densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of hostages. In a second phase, it envisages a total Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territory.
Washington believes a ceasefire would help prevent a regional conflagration, including a possible attack on Israel by Iran and its allies in retaliation for the assassination of the Hamas chief on July 31 in Tehran, which is blamed on the Hebrew state.
The war in Gaza in figures
The conflict erupted on October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters launched an attack that killed 1,199 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, according to a report by AFP based on official figures.
Among the dead were more than 300 soldiers. They also took 251 hostages, of whom 105 remain in Gaza, including 34 who the army declared dead.
Israel is fighting for its people and Hamas is fighting for its people. Enough is enough, each side must give in to the other. All our children are dead.
The Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip has already left at least 40,265 dead, According to the Hamas government’s Ministry of Health, which does not specify how many are civilians or combatants. According to the UN, most are women, adolescents and children.
According to Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Gaza Civil Defence, five bodies were removed from the rubble of a house destroyed by an Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis. Witnesses reported shelling in the centre and south of the territory, as well as clashes between the army and Palestinian fighters in the north.
“Israel is fighting for its people and Hamas is fighting for its people. Enough is enough, each side must give in to the other. All our children have died,” said Abu Jamal Al Khur, outside the Al Aqsa martyrs’ hospital in Deir al Balah.
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