Israel bombs Gaza ahead of truce talks

Gaza Strip. The Israeli army on Wednesday bombed the Gaza Strip, on the eve of a new round of negotiations for a truce that the international community, especially the United States, is strongly calling for to dissuade Iran from launching an attack on Israel.

Iran and its allies accuse Israel of killing Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, on July 31 during a visit to Tehran for the inauguration of President Masud Pezeshkian.

Israel has not commented on the attack and its Western allies have urged Iran to tone down its threats to avenge his death. The attack on Haniyeh came hours after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed a military commander from Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement, which is backed by the Islamic Republic.

The escalation of tensions has raised fears of an expansion of the conflict that began more than ten months ago in the Gaza Strip, triggered by an attack in southern Israel on October 7.

Bombings in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory were halted for only a week when a truce was reached at the end of November. The ceasefire allowed Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged for Israeli hostages captured by Islamist commandos during their incursion into Israel.

Ceasefire talks are due to resume on Thursday. A Hamas representative said the Islamist group was continuing “its consultations with the mediators.”

“Hamas really wants an end to the war and a ceasefire agreement based on the plan [de Joe Biden]”another Hamas official said, referring to the proposal that the US president presented on May 31.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Tuesday outlined its conditions for a truce, which include “a veto on some prisoners” released from jail.

Biden said Tuesday that a Gaza truce could deter Iran from attacking Israel.

His envoy for the conflict, Amos Hochstein, visited Beirut on Wednesday, where he warned of the urgent need to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

Iran on Tuesday refused to back down from its threats against Israel. Tehran “is determined to defend its sovereignty (…)”, said Naser Kanani, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.