Amid calls for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, intensified in recent days by Israel's allies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured that Israel's offensive in the enclave will continue until the Islamist group Hamas is eliminated. His statements come at a time when the head of Hamas's political office, Ismael Haniyeh, traveled to Egypt to negotiate a temporary pause in the war in exchange for freeing hostages. During the day, the UN Security Council again postponed the vote on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the conflict.
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In the midst of ceasefire negotiations, Israel once again makes it clear that the war in Gaza is not close to ending. The Israeli Prime Minister assured this Wednesday, December 20, that his country's Army will not stop until it has completely eliminated the Islamist group. “We continue the war until the end. Until Hamas is eliminated, until victory. Anyone who thinks we will stop is far from reality.”
The Israeli 'premier' repeated the unconditional objectives that he has already defined in previous speeches: “the elimination of Hamas” and “the release of the hostages” held by the group, captured during the offensive against the Israeli population on October 7. After that, he assured that the members of the Islamist group only have two alternatives: “surrender or die.” For his part, Israel's Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, said that “this is not the time for truces.”
The Israeli president gave this speech despite the fact that in recent days and during the day talks have been held with the Islamist group in Cairo about the possibility of a new truce in the war, amid Western requests to cease the hostilities in Gaza.
Negotiations in Cairo
The head of the political office of the Islamist group Hamas, Ismael Haniyeh, visited Cairo this Wednesday, December 20, to hold talks on an eventual ceasefire in Gaza and negotiate the release of some of the approximately 129 Israeli kidnapped people held by Palestinian militants. .
A visit that occurs just one day after Hamas had fired rockets that activated air raid sirens in central Israel, in a war in which 20,000 Palestinians have died, according to figures from the Ministry of Health of Gaza, controlled by Hamas, and almost 85% of the population has had to leave their home.
The meeting takes place just after the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, showed himself willing the day before for a humanitarian pause to achieve the release of the kidnapped people, in statements that contrast with those he offered this Wednesday and that put into question question the possibility of an agreement between Hamas and Tel Aviv.
The goal of the talks would be to achieve a second ceasefire and release more hostages that Hamas took in its attack on Israel on October 7, for which the militant group is calling for the fighting to stop for at least a week, a news agency confirmed. source familiar with the discussions told the Reuters news agency.
In a statement, the Islamist group stated that Haniyeh arrived in Cairo “to hold talks with Egyptian officials about the evolution of the Zionist aggression against the Gaza Strip,” without giving further details. Meanwhile, a delegation from Islamic Jihad plans to join him to participate in the negotiations, which also seek the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu hinted that negotiations are underway for the release of more Israeli hostages
The last time Haniyeh traveled to Egypt was in early November, before the announcement of the only ceasefire in the war so far, in a week-long cessation of attacks in which more than 105 hostages were freed from the kidnapping by Hamas and which released 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
In the negotiations, the number of people who would be released would be discussed. Israel has insisted that sick women and men be included among those potentially released, adding that Palestinians imprisoned for serious crimes could also be on the list.
A pause that, although it would benefit both parties, does not cool the conflict nor distance it from Israel's objective: the elimination of Hamas, as the Israeli 'premier' repeated this Wednesday.
UN Security Council again postpones ceasefire vote
This Wednesday, the UN Security Council again postponed the vote on a resolution that seeks to call for a pause in the war between Israel and Hamas.
“The Security Council has agreed to continue negotiations today to allow additional time for diplomacy. And the (Council) presidency will reschedule the adoption for tomorrow (Thursday) morning,” said Security Council President José Javier De La Gasca López-Domínguez.
During the negotiations on the drafting of the text, which will have to be voted on, diplomats have modified the proposal, which called for a ceasefire in Gaza, given the possibility that it would be vetoed by the United States, which already rejected another resolution weeks ago. which urged a cessation of hostilities in the conflict.
The text debated this Wednesday called for the “suspension of hostilities” and the establishment in Gaza of a UN supervision mechanism for the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave. The United States “asked to further dilute the text and eliminate the reference to this UN monitoring mechanism,” journalist Jessica Le Masurier told France 24 in English from New York.
Israel approves maritime humanitarian corridor to Gaza
The Israeli Foreign Ministry welcomed the prompt opening of a maritime humanitarian corridor for the Strip that leaves from Cyprus, which must have a “security inspection coordinated by Israel,” as the head of the ministry, Eli, said. Cohen.
His Cypriot counterpart, Constantino Kombus, with whom he spoke from Cyprus, assured that the measure is “an important step” for Israel to disassociate itself from the economic situation of the Palestinian enclave.
“We will not allow a return to the reality that preceded the murderous terrorist attack of October 7,” Cohen said, according to a statement released by his department.
With AP and Reuters
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