Israel and Hamas are adhering to their demands and fear the expansion of the war after Iran’s threats
It appears that Israel and the Hamas movement are still adhering to their demands regarding a new truce proposal in the Gaza Strip, while fears are increasing that the war that has been ongoing for six months will expand to the region with Iran’s threats to respond to the targeting of its consulate building in Damascus.
On Thursday, Israeli bombing targeted the Gaza Strip, especially its south, according to eyewitnesses, while the mediators awaited a response from the two camps to its latest proposal for a truce, which includes the release of hostages held in Gaza since the start of the war on October 7, according to what Agence France-Presse reported. .
For its part, the Israeli army announced that it had begun “a precise operation in central Gaza during the night to eliminate terrorists,” based on intelligence information collected by the army, noting that naval and air forces participated in the operation.
UNICEF reported that one of its vehicles waiting to enter northern Gaza was hit by live ammunition on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, confirmed that the killing of three of his sons in an Israeli air strike in Gaza would not change the position of the Islamic Resistance Movement, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, in the negotiations.
He added: “This time is at the height of the negotiations taking place. We said very clearly: Unless he takes it through killing, destruction, massacres, and war of extermination, he will never take it to the negotiating table.”
He continued: “Our demands are clear and specific, and we will not give up on them. If he believes that targeting my sons…at the height of these negotiations and before the movement’s response arrives, that this will push Hamas to change its position, then he is delusional. Positions are fixed, they do not change and do not change under any circumstances.”
The Hamas movement announced on Wednesday that three of Ismail Haniyeh’s sons and four of his grandchildren were killed in a bombing on the Beach refugee camp in Gaza City, where the family was visiting relatives on the first day of Eid al-Fitr.
Israel confirmed the killing of Haniyeh’s sons, and the army said in a statement that it and the General Security Service (Shin Bet) “eliminated three members of the military wing of Hamas in the central Gaza Strip.” The three elements are the sons of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas.”
As negotiations on a truce continue, international fears are increasing that the war in Gaza will expand to the region.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden reaffirmed his “steadfast” support for Israel in the face of Iran’s threats to respond to the attack on its consulate in Damascus.
Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei confirmed on Wednesday that Israel will “receive punishment” after the attack attributed to it on April 1 in Syria.
The attack destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus and led to the death of 16 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard mourned seven of its members in the attack, including two senior officers.
The US President declared: “We will do everything in our power to protect Israel’s security,” and urged Hamas to respond to the truce proposal.
In the face of this tension, Russia “strongly” advised its citizens on Thursday to avoid visiting the region, “particularly Israel, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories.”
The war broke out on October 7, with Hamas launching an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing 1,170 people, most of them civilians, according to a census conducted by Agence France-Presse based on official Israeli figures.
Also, about 250 people were kidnapped during the attack, 129 of whom are still hostage in Gaza, and 34 of them are believed to have died, according to official Israeli estimates.
Israel pledged to “eliminate” Hamas and launched an intense and devastating military campaign on the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of 33,482 people, most of them women and children, according to the latest toll from the Hamas Ministry of Health.
The proposal initially stipulates the release of 42 Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of 800 to 900 Palestinians detained by Israel, the entry of 400 to 500 trucks of food aid daily, and the return of displaced persons from northern Gaza to their towns, according to a Hamas source.
For its part, Hamas demands a final ceasefire, Israel withdrawing its forces from all parts of the Gaza Strip, allowing the return of the displaced, and increasing the flow of aid, at a time when the United Nations says that the entire population, numbering about 2.4 million people, is starving.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to insist that the war will continue until Hamas is defeated and all hostages are released. He is also sticking to his plan to launch a ground attack on the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt, which he considers the last main stronghold of Hamas.
This project raises opposition from many countries, starting with the United States, which warns of heavy losses in civilian lives in this city, which has become a refuge for one and a half million people, according to the United Nations, the majority of whom are displaced people who fled the northern Gaza Strip.
On April 7, Israel announced the withdrawal of its forces from the southern Gaza Strip, especially the city of Khan Yunis, after fighting that lasted several months. Now, there is only one brigade deployed in the central Gaza Strip, according to the army.
Israel, which has imposed a severe siege on the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, is facing international pressure to allow more humanitarian aid to enter the Strip, which is threatened by famine.
Under pressure, Israel increased the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said: “Last month, the daily average was 213 (trucks), and before that it was 170.” He added that the goal is to reach 500 aid trucks on average daily, and bring them through Egypt, the Israeli port of Ashdod, and a new land crossing to Gaza.
#countries #supply #weapons #Israel
2024-04-11 14:13:49
