Gaza war: White House says Cairo talks have made progress, as Israeli army orders evacuation of western Gaza City – BBC News Arabic

An Egyptian source told Agence France-Presse that the “extended” round of negotiations will begin on Sunday with the participation of Egyptian and Qatari officials.

He spoke of “extensive talks taking place in Cairo on Friday and Saturday, to prepare for an extended round of negotiations that will begin on Sunday,” noting that Washington is “talking to the inter- mediators on additional proposals to close the gaps between Israel and Hamas and methods of implementation.”

Meanwhile, a source from Hamas familiar with the progress of the talks said on Friday that the movement “has not received any new proposal, and that Hamas has not been told about a new proposal regarding the border with Egypt and the route of Rafah railway.

Axios reported on Friday that US President Joe Biden asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw Israeli forces from the Gaza border with Egypt as part of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, so that the discussions.

According to the Reuters news agency, three Israeli officials told the American website Axios that Netanyahu partially accepted Biden’s request, which he mentioned in his call on Wednesday, and approved a controlled site to provide Israeli forces on the border between Egypt and Gaza.

For his part, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday that he spoke with his Israeli counterpart and they discussed a group of regional issues, including the ongoing exchange of fire on the border between Israel and Lebanon and the need to reach a ceasefire agreement. in the Gaza Strip.

Austin said in a post on the

The head of Hamas, Hossam Badran, said, “Netanyahu’s request to keep the occupying forces in the axes of Martyrs Road (Netzarim) and Salah al-Din and the border strip with Egypt (Philadelphia) shows Israel’s intentions to keep going with the attack and the war of destruction. and without making a final decision.”

He confirmed to AFP on Friday that Hamas would not accept “less than” the withdrawal of Israeli forces, including the Philadelphia axis and Netzarim, holding Washington responsible for “pressure” on Israel to achieve a ceasefire.

He believed that Sunday’s visit would be “crucial for putting together an agreement that will be announced if Washington succeeds in putting pressure on Netanyahu.”

For its part, the Israel Broadcasting Corporation said that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s request to continue using Israeli armed forces on the Philadelphia axis has become one of the last major points of disagreement on the way to reach an agreement.

According to the Commission, the Egyptians were strongly opposed to the continued use of Israeli forces on the Philadelphia axis, and a senior Israeli official said that Egypt had been given up during the negotiations on the use of Israeli military forces in Gaza conflict in the first one. phase of the agreement agreement, especially on the Philadelphia axis.

An Israeli official pointed out that progress has been made with the Egyptians, and it is expected that they will provide Israel’s maps to Hamas on Saturday, to receive the response to the move.

A senior Israeli official said that Israel hopes that Hamas will respond to Israel’s maps and agree to join the talks on Sunday, so that the mediators can move between the two parties in a timely manner and move on the way to agreement.

Kamala Harris promised on Thursday to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

She said that if she became president of the United States, she would stand by Ukraine, but she would never “cocoon” dictators, “unlike” the her Republican opponent, Donald Trump.

Speaking about the war in Gaza, the US Vice President stressed to her supporters at the Democratic Party convention that “now is the time to end the ceasefire and rest stop.”

Harris said she is working with President Joe Biden “to end this war so that Israel is safe, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and that the Palestinian people can exercise their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. determination.”

In this context, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, confirmed that the court has jurisdiction to investigate the Israelis, and asked the judges to make an urgent decision to issue two arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav. Gallant.

Khan urged judges investigating the arrest warrants to be issued against Israeli officials and Hamas leaders to make their decisions quickly and without delay.

“Any unreasonable delay in these procedures adversely affects the rights of victims,” ​​Khan said.

In the latest developments on the ground, the official spokesman for the Israeli army in Arabic, Avichay Adraee, called for the evacuation of residents and displaced people in the western areas of Gaza City, against a background of “continuous firing of rockets by Hamas,” according to what he said.

Adraee vowed that “the Israeli army will act forcefully against terrorist elements immediately.”

The Israeli army had said that two missiles were fired from the Gaza Strip at the southern city of Sderot, one of which was intercepted by Israeli air defenses, and the second missile landed in an open area.

There were no reports of injuries or damage, according to a statement by the Israeli army.

On the other hand, Palestinian medics said on Friday that Israeli bombing killed several Palestinians and wounded others in Jabalia, who fled the area on military orders.

The Israeli army did not immediately comment on this attack, but said earlier that the army targeted a school in the Zaytoun area, which was said to be a Hamas control center.

A statement said, “Prior to the strike, many measures were taken to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precision weapons, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and residents, civilians fled from Jabalia following an order from the Israeli army, which was posted on social media.

The war in Gaza has so far killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Strip, in response to the killing of around 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of around 250 hostages, in an unprecedented attack. ever. by Hamas on the seventh of October last year.