Gaza (Union)
Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor to US President Joe Biden, begins a visit to Israel today in an effort to revive the frozen negotiations and reach an agreement to stop the war in Gaza and complete the prisoner and detainee exchange deal.
Sullivan is scheduled to meet with senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to discuss the war on Gaza.
Israel threatens to launch a large-scale attack in Rafah, but the United States opposes launching this operation out of fear for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled there to avoid fighting elsewhere in Gaza.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced that Sullivan will discuss the recently halted efforts to reach an agreement with the Palestinian factions regarding the release of sick, elderly, and wounded hostages held since October 7.
Before Sullivan’s arrival, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant announced that the government would send additional forces to Rafah, in further defiance of international warnings about the danger this would pose to hundreds of thousands of civilians, most of whom were displaced in the city in the far south of the Strip on the border with Egypt.
Thirteen Western countries, many of which are traditional supporters of Israel, called for not launching a large-scale attack on Rafah, the day after Israel announced the intensification of its operations in Rafah. The countries are Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, in addition to Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden, members of the European Union. .
Israeli statements attempt to show consideration for ensuring the safety of civilians as much as possible. In this context, since last week, the Israeli army has been issuing evacuation orders and directing civilians towards areas it claims are “safe,” while UN and Palestinian authorities confirm that “there is no safe place” in the entire Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army said yesterday that its air force “bombed more than 70 targets” throughout the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, while the ground forces continued “precise operations” east of Rafah.
Last Wednesday, President Biden’s chief Middle East advisor, Brett McGurk, visited Doha and met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss efforts to break the deadlock in the negotiations, stop the war in Gaza, and complete the prisoner and detainee exchange deal between the two sides, according to two sources familiar with the contents of the meeting. .
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