Israel has assured the United States that its military operation in Rafah is of “limited” scale and duration and is aimed at cutting off arms supplies to Hamas, a White House spokesman said today.
But at the same time Israel’s Defense Minister warned today that the army is ready to “intensify” its military operations against Hamas throughout the Gaza Strip.
John Kirby, the White House National Security Council spokesman, reiterated that Washington remains opposed to a “major” ground attack on Rafah and wants to reopen “as soon as possible” the humanitarian aid crossing point on the Egyptian border, the which has been closed by the Israeli army.
It is noted that in Rafah, an area the size of a small city, more than 1.2 million people have gathered and the UN has warned of a humanitarian disaster.
Kirby said he hoped a final deal would be reached “very soon” between Israel and Hamas during talks in Cairo, Egypt.
Threats of more military operations
Israel’s defense minister warned today that the army is ready to “intensify” its military operations if there is no progress on the release of hostages held in Palestinian territory.
“We are ready to compromise to bring back the hostages, but if we have no other choice, we will intensify the operation throughout the Strip – in the south, in the center and in the north,” Yoav Gallad said amid negotiations in Cairo, where Israel sent a delegation after weeks of fruitless talks.
The agreement should mainly concern the exchange of Palestinians held by Israel for hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Palestinian armed movements following the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
Israel will continue its operation in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah until Hamas forces in the area are destroyed or the Islamist movement hands over Israeli hostages it continues to hold, the defense minister added.
Netanyahu is negative
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that the latest truce proposal accepted by the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas falls far short of Israel’s basic demands, adding that military pressure remains necessary for the return of hostages held in Gaza.
Israeli forces earlier took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, a development Netanyahu described as “a very important step towards destroying the remaining military capabilities of Hamas.”
Negotiations
A group of Israeli officials is traveling to Cairo to assess whether Hamas can be persuaded to make changes to its latest truce proposal, a senior Israeli official said today, reiterating that the current proposal is not acceptable to Israel.
“This mission consists of mid-level agents. If there is possibly a credible agreement, the top officials will lead the mission,” the official told Reuters, referring to senior officials from the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies, which head the Israeli side.
A delegation of Hamas arrived in Cairo today from Doha, Qatar to continue negotiations, the Palestinian organization said in a statement.
At the same time, Hamas official Osama Hamdan warned during a press conference in Beirut that if Israel’s military offensive in Rafah continues, there will be no ceasefire agreement.
At the same time, the Egyptian media Al-Qahera News which is close to the intelligence services reported that the mediators of Egypt, Qatar and the US are holding talks today in Cairo with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas with the aim of a truce in the Gaza Strip.
“The delegations of Qatar and the United States are continuing their talks with the Egyptian delegation and the Hamas delegation” to discuss the ceasefire, Egyptian media reported, citing a “senior official” who did not mention the presence Israeli delegation.
The negotiations in Cairo are taking place as Israeli tanks took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.
Israeli jets are shelling the eastern part of Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than 1 million Palestinians displaced by the war have taken refuge.
Hamas issued a statement saying the operation was designed to undermine efforts to reach a ceasefire.
The truce proposal
The agreement that appears to have been accepted by Hamas is for a phased ceasefire and the release of hostages.
The new proposal would not allow Israel to veto the release of specific Palestinian prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti, a Fatah leader serving a life sentence.
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