Cairo (Al-Ittihad)
Yesterday, negotiations on the truce in Gaza continued in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, in the presence of all parties, according to Egyptian media reports.
Cairo News Channel quoted an unnamed senior source as saying: “The truce negotiations resumed yesterday in Cairo in the presence of all parties,” at a time when Egypt is hosting delegations representing both sides of the war, the Palestinian factions, and Israel, in addition to Qatar and the United States, which are participating with Egypt. In mediation efforts to stop the war that has erupted since October 7 last year.
A high-level Egyptian source confirmed yesterday that there are intensive Egyptian efforts with various parties to contain the situation in the Gaza Strip, adding that there is consensus among all parties to return to the negotiating track.
Cairo informed the Israeli side of the “danger of escalation” after Israeli forces took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, stressing that Egypt is ready to deal with all scenarios.
In turn, Ofir Gendelman, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said: Israel is aware of the sensitivity related to conducting a military operation near the Egyptian border, stressing that this operation does not violate at all the peace treaty concluded between the two sides.
Yesterday, the White House said that talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip regarding the release of detainees are continuing, and that Israel and the Palestinian factions have come “close enough” to reaching an agreement that allows them to bridge the gaps in their positions.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said: “A careful assessment of the positions of both sides indicates that they are able to close the remaining gaps, and we will do everything in our power to support this process.”
Kirby added that talks on the hostage agreement and ceasefire resumed in Cairo yesterday in the presence of CIA Director William Burns, expecting the two sides to be able to bridge the remaining gaps.
Meanwhile, an American official announced yesterday that the United States last week suspended sending a shipment of bombs to Israel against the backdrop of concerns related to the plan to invade Rafah, in an unprecedented restriction by President Joe Biden on military aid to the Hebrew state.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said: President Joe Biden’s decision to suspend the shipment of high-explosive munitions to Israel was taken in the context of Tel Aviv’s plans to launch an attack in Rafah, which Washington opposes, without serious guarantees to protect civilians.
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