Hamas seems to be opening a window on the agreement for the exchange of Israeli hostages. The turning point was announced by the Prime Minister of Qatar, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who announced that he had received “a positive response” from the Islamic faction to the draft agreement mediated in Paris by the USA, Egypt and Qatar itself . In a press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a visit to Doha, al Thani specified that Hamas' response includes “some comments, but in general it is positive”. On Telegram the militiamen confirmed that they had transmitted their position to Qatar and Egypt, explaining that they had “tackled in a positive spirit”, together with the other Palestinian factions, the mediation proposal developed in the French capital. However, they insisted on their conditions, first and foremost “a total and comprehensive ceasefire” and an “end to the aggression”, i.e. the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza. As well as on the “completion of the prisoner exchange”.
Hamas' response immediately resonated overseas. American President Joe Biden, answering questions from journalists at the White House, defined it as “a little beyond the limit” but did not rule anything out, adding that the US “is thinking about it”. In Israel, however, the first comments – despite no official statements from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or the government – are marked by pessimism. The prime minister's office limited itself to announcing that the Mossad is studying the position of the Palestinian faction. “But Hamas's response is essentially negative,” a high-level political source commented to Channel 12 TV. Other sources cited by Ynet denounced that «Hamas said yes to the framework of the agreement but set impossible conditions. We will not stop fighting,” they underlined. The issue of a total ceasefire and the withdrawal of the army from the Strip has always been the biggest obstacle to the realization of a possible agreement, given that Netanyahu's government considers these Hamas conditions “unacceptable”. Now it's up to Blinken – who is arriving in Israel at the end of his diplomatic shuttle between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar – to try to smooth out the positions. Some commentators have argued that he will focus heavily on the promise of a normalization of relations between Riyadh and Jerusalem. «I will discuss Hamas's response with Israel tomorrow. But it is essential” to reach the agreement on the hostages, said the Secretary of State.
Specifically regarding the hostages, the New York Times revealed an internal IDF assessment according to which at least 32 of them, a fifth of the 136 kidnapped still in the hands of Hamas, are dead. The newspaper added that intelligence was being verified that at least 20 more abductees had been killed. The figure of 31 dead hostages – most killed on October 7 in the Hamas attack – is higher than Israel has so far publicly claimed.
On the 123rd day of the war, the IDF is continuing operations in the south of the Strip, especially in Khan Yunis. In this place, Israeli soldiers found “secret documents that confirm the links between Iran and Hamas in general and with Sinwar in particular”, including through “transfers by Tehran of over 150 million dollars in the years 2014-2020”. The NYT also analyzed images on Tik Tok posted by Israeli soldiers whose behavior is not in line with IDF rules and which the army condemned. Among these, those of a soldier who raises his thumb at the camera while driving a bulldozer along a road in Beit Lahia (“I stopped counting how many neighborhoods I have razed to the ground”) or others which show soldiers vandalizing shops and school classrooms derogatory comments about Palestinians. Finally, tension in the Red Sea shows no signs of abating: the leader of Yemen's Houthis Abdul Malik al-Houthi has threatened that the group will “further increase” its actions if Israel does not stop the attacks on Gaza.
Read also: What happened yesterday
The US House rejects the Republican bill that wanted to separate aid to Israel from that to Ukraine and Taiwan
The US House has rejected the bill, proposed by the Republicans, to separate aid to Israel from that to Ukraine and Taiwan, as foreseen in President Joe Biden's package. This is the second defeat for the Grand old party in the Chamber in a few minutes after the failure of the impeachment of the Secretary of the Interior.
Four dead in attacks in Homs
Israeli strikes on the Syrian city of Homs killed four people, including two civilians, a war monitor told AFP, while the Syrian Defense Ministry reported an unspecified number of dead and wounded civilians. “Four people were killed, including two civilians, in Israeli attacks on the city of Homs,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Syrian Defense Ministry reported that “the Israeli enemy launched air strikes from the direction north of Tripoli (Lebanon), hitting several sites in the city of Homs and its countryside, killing and wounding several civilians.” Syrian state television shared footage of rescuers sifting through the rubble of what appears to be a collapsed building and carrying a person on a stretcher.
Arab sources: Israeli forces near Jenin and in the West Bank town of Tulkarem
“Videos shared on Palestinian social platforms and verified by Al Jazeera show a large gathering of Israeli forces near Jenin, in the West Bank, but also Israeli raids in the city of Tulkarem”. This was written by the Gulf satellite TV, specifying that “the videos of Tulkarem raids show bulldozers and armored vehicles entering the city's main neighborhoods.”
Blinken arrived in Israel
The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, arrived in Israel this evening, as Israeli authorities examine Hamas' response, handed over to the Mossad, to a truce plan, which includes the release of hostages. Today the US Secretary of State went to Egypt, then to Qatar, two mediator countries with the United States, before landing in Israel, where he is due to meet the highest authorities tomorrow.
Israeli attacks in Homs province in Syria
Israeli attacks hit Homs province in Syria this evening. Syrian state media reported this. Syrian state television reported “an Israeli attack” in central Syria, in Homs province. In January, Israeli strikes near Damascus killed eight people, including pro-Iranian fighters, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. During more than a decade of civil war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes in the country, mostly against Iranian-backed forces and Syrian army positions. But these attacks have intensified since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7. Israel rarely comments on individual attacks on Syria but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran, which supports the government of President Bashar al-Assad, to expand its presence there.
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