It seems that a new hostage agreement was not a priority for the Israeli delegation that participated in negotiations with Egypt, the USA and Qatar in Cairo. According to Haaretz, the delegation led by the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, which had already returned to Israel, had limited room for maneuver since the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is in no hurry to reach an agreement.
The head of the Israeli government, the newspaper points out in its web edition, would not have given the delegation the power to conduct a real negotiation and continues to insist that military pressure will ultimately lead to an agreement with better conditions for Israel, regardless of the protests of the hostages' families.
Tel Aviv has defined the demands made by Hamas as unacceptable so farrepresented by Qatar at the negotiating table, but that Netanyahu himself does not believe much in an agreement at this stage is also demonstrated by the absence of General Nitzan Alon, head of the army unit responsible for gather intelligence on the hostages.
Haaretz recalls that at the center of Sunday's telephone conversation between President Joe Biden and Netanyahu were the United States' efforts to reach an agreement. After that meeting, Israeli special forces rescued two hostages – Louis Norberto Har and Fernando Marman – while Netanyahu publicly adopted a very aggressive line, reiterating that he did not want to give in to Hamas' demands, that Israel will continue to use force to try to save the hostages, that military pressure on Hamas in Khan Yunis will continue and that the army is preparing to attack Rafah despite international appeals.
According to the newspaper, the problem with Netanyahu's strategy is the condition of the hostages themselves: 32 of the 134 remaining in Gaza were declared dead by the Israel Defense Forces. And while it remains under intense military pressure, Hamas is seeking to exert psychological pressure on the Israeli public. In recent days there has been talk of hostages killed during Israeli bombings. Unlike in the past, however, the alleged victims were not identified.
The talks in Cairo are taking place as Israel continues its attack on Khan Yunis, where it believes several Hamas leaders remain and are likely holding some hostages. A major effort is being made to hunt down Yahya Sinwar, who – according to Haaretz – is probably still hiding in the labyrinth of bunkers and tunnels that Hamas dug for its leader beneath the city.
Recently, not only documents written by Sinwar were found, but also about 20 million shekels ($5.4 million) in cash, which were for his and his staff's personal use. Soldiers and agents from the Shin Bet security service even found personal belongings in one of his hideouts, including his toothbrush. Meanwhile, images taken by Hamas security cameras of Sinwar moving with his children through the tunnels on October 10, during the first days of the war, were released yesterday.
Haaretz therefore claims that Khan Yunis will remain the center of IDF operations for a few more weeks. At the same time, an assault on Rafah is being prepared, with the United States having on several occasions asked for guarantees on the evacuation of civilians. Preparations for an offensive of this scale take time, and then there is the issue of the start of Ramadan, which kicks off in about a month.
It will be difficult, the newspaper concludes, to launch a large-scale operation in Rafah in such a delicate period for the Arab and Muslim world. Furthermore, Israel must coordinate its plans with Egypt to avoid jeopardizing the peace agreement between the two countries. One of the problems concerns the security annex of the agreement, which prohibits the entry of tanks into areas close to the border.
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