On Friday, the United States, Qatar and Egypt announced that a new proposal had been submitted at the two-day Doha talks that would “bridge the gaps” between Israel and Hamas, which announced that it had to refuse.
A joint statement issued by the three countries said talks would begin next week in Cairo, at a time when diplomatic pressure continues to avoid a regional escalation of the war after rising tensions in recent weeks. that passed between Iran and Hezbollah with Israel.
“Over the past 48 hours in Doha, senior officials from our governments have been engaged in extensive negotiations as mediators with the aim of concluding a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and release of hostages and detainees these discussions were serious and constructive and were held in a positive mood,” the statement said.
He continued, at the meeting, that the United States, with the support of Qatar and Egypt, “gave a proposal to the two parties that will reduce the gaps between them and is consistent with the principles established by US President Joe Biden on May 31,” explaining that the proposal “fills the remaining gaps in a way that allows the agreement to be implemented quickly. “
He announced that the negotiators “will meet again in Cairo before the end of next week, hoping to reach an agreement according to the terms presented today.”
After the statement was issued, a senior Hamas source confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the leaders of the movement had been informed of the results of the Doha meetings.
He said that the Israeli delegation was “setting new conditions in the context of its approach to deterrence, such as wanting to keep military forces in the border area with Egypt (Philadelphia axis), and that she has the right to veto it. the names of (Palestinian) prisoners and the elimination of other prisoners outside of Palestine.”
He stressed that Hamas would not accept “anything less than a complete ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the normal return of the displaced, and an exchange deal (of hostages and detainees) without restrictions and conditions of office.”
This statement comes as a result of intensified diplomatic efforts due to threats from Iran and Hezbollah to attack Israel in response to the assassination of the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran on July 31 in a strike that was give him Israel, a few hours after Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Tehran vowed “revenge” on Haniyeh’s killing, and Hezbollah vowed to respond to Shukr’s murder.
However, US President Joe Biden suggested on Tuesday that a cease-fire agreement in Gaza could encourage Iran to refrain from launching an attack on Israel.
Biden confirmed on Friday that reaching an agreement regarding a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip is “closer than ever.”
“We haven’t reached an agreement yet,” he said on the sidelines of a ceremony in the Oval Office, but he understood that reaching a settlement now was closer “than it (the situation) was three days ago.” “
The talks began in Doha on Thursday with the participation of CIA Director William Burns, as well as the heads of Israel’s Foreign Intelligence Service (Mossad) David Barnea and Israel’s Ministry of Interior (Shin Bet) Ronen Bar.
The Doha talks coincided with talks between the French and British Foreign Ministers, Stephane Sigourney and David Lammy in Israel today.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirmed during his meeting with Sigourney and Lammy on Friday that his country expects its allies to support it in “attacking important targets” in Iran if Tehran attacked her.
He said in a statement issued by his office, “Israel expects France and the United Kingdom to tell Iran clearly and publicly that it is forbidden to attack Israel, and if it does attack it Iran, the US-led coalition will join Israel, not only to defend but also to attack important targets” in Iran.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah released a video showing fighters moving through large lighted tunnels carved into the rock. While there seemed to be a large number of trucks moving inside, there was also an opening from which a large missile launcher appeared, aimed at the sky. Agence France-Presse could not verify the authenticity of this video.
Currently, the humanitarian situation is worsening in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called for two campaigns, each lasting seven days, to vaccinate more than 640,000 children against polio.
On the ground, witnesses reported Friday Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army declared “the elimination of terrorists.”
The Israeli army requested the evacuation of new areas in Khan Yunis in the south, reducing the humanitarian zone in which they had previously asked residents to seek refuge.
The displaced person, Maher Al-Tabash (35 years old), said, “How many times do they want to move us? We have nowhere else to go.
The war began after a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, which killed 1,198 people, most of them civilians, according to a count prepared by Agence France-Presse based on official Israeli figures.
During the attack, 251 people were kidnapped, 111 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 39 who the army says died.
As a result of Israeli raids, bombings and ground operations in the Gaza Strip 40,005 people died, according to figures from the Hamas Health Ministry on Thursday.
Since the start of the war, tensions have increased in the West Bank.
On Thursday evening, dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the town of Jit, located between Nablus and Qalqilya, and set fire to buildings and vehicles and threw stones and Molotov cocktails, according to the Israeli army, which managed to kill one arrest them.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said the attack resulted in the death of 23-year-old Mahmoud Abdel Qader Sada “in settler fire”, while another Palestinian was seriously injured by a bullet to the chest. .
Hassan Arman, a resident of the village, told AFP, “It is an unprecedented attack… They came to kill, burn and destroy.”
Israeli and international officials condemned the attack.
The United Nations, which regularly denounces Israeli settlements in the West Bank as a violation of international law, condemned the “horrific” attack, while the United States, France and its ‘ Germany condemns the “unacceptable” act.
On Friday, the British Foreign Secretary also condemned in the “strongest terms” the “disgraceful” attack by Israeli settlers on a Palestinian village.
The head of foreign affairs of the European Union, Josep Borrell, announced on Friday that he would recommend imposing sanctions on officials in response to attacks by settlers in the West Bank, among “almost total impunity. “
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry considered the attack “organized state terrorism,” referring to collusion between settlers and security authorities.
2024-08-16 19:23:46
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