Israel waits in the next few hours a Hamas response to a six-week truce proposal with a first phase that would include the release of around thirty hostages from Gaza, while the United States and relatives of the 133 captives in the hands of the Islamist group urge that mediation efforts this time materialize in a pact.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed truce efforts in Gaza with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh and described the Israeli proposal presented over the weekend as “extraordinarily generous.”
He also expressed his hope that Hamas “make the right decision” quickly.
Negotiations continue in Cairo
Hamas maintains this Monday “extended conversations” with officials from Egypt’s security agencies about the latest proposal to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, according to Egyptian sources.
Israeli media report that an Israeli delegation is expected to leave tomorrow for Cairo to continue talks on the agreement for the release of the hostages.
As an Egyptian security source informed EFE on Sunday, the talks between mediators from Egypt and Israel were “largely positive and successful” and included concessions to “many of Hamas’s demands,” including the return of displaced people to the north of the enclave.
A Hamas official, who requested anonymity, told EFE that, so far, there were no “major problems” in the Palestinian movement’s observations on the recent proposal presented by Israel and Egypt for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
Pressure on the parties
The talks are also taking place in an atmosphere of a lot of pressure on both parties.
On the one hand, Israeli authorities have told Hamas that this is the group’s last chance to reach a truce. before the army invades the southern city of Rafahwhere 1.4 million Palestinians are crowded together, the vast majority of them displaced.
International organizations and much of the international media have warned that an offensive against Rafah would mean a humanitarian catastrophe even greater than what the Palestinians are suffering.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has already warned on numerous occasions that any planned Israeli military offensive against the densely populated Rafah governorate in the Gaza Strip could constitute “war crimes”.
Likewise, the movement that is articulated around the relatives of the people who remain in the hands of Hamas, within the Strip, continues to mobilize to request that an agreement be reached for the exchange of hostages, fearing that an offensive in Rafah put your loved ones in further danger.
“Let us finalize the agreement that is on the table to bring home the hostages, end the hostilities, agree to a ceasefire and allow us to celebrate our Israeli Independence Day next month with our loved ones,” Lishay Lavi demanded. , the wife of hostage Omri Miran, 46, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, who appeared two days ago in a video released by Hamas.
On the other hand, according to several local media such as HaaretzIsraeli authorities fear that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issue arrest warrants this week against the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, and the head of the Army, Herzl Halevi, considering that they have not done enough to prevent the violations committed by their troops against Palestinian civilians.
However, according to the newspaper, both the Ministry of Justice and the Army lawyers are trying to prevent that from happening and, in addition, Netanyahu, the Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dremes, and countries friendly to Israel, with the United States at the side. head, are trying to convince ICC Attorney General Karim Khan that delay or even prevent the issuance of court orders.
Israel, like other countries such as the United States, Russia or Iran They do not recognize the authority of the ICCbut the 123 countries that do so would be obliged to arrest them and hand them over to the Hague court in case an arrest warrant is issued against them and they enter their territories.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza continues with 34,488 dead
Parallel to the conversations, Israel continues without giving truce to the Palestinians and, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the Israeli Army has killed 34 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the last few hours, raising the total number of registered deaths to 34,488.
According to the Ministry “the Israeli occupation committed three massacres against families in the Gaza Strip” that They caused 34 deaths and 68 injuries according to data from Gaza hospitals.
In just one of the attacks, in Rafah, ten members of the same family perished, including three children.
OCHA reiterated today that the situation in Rafah “remains terrible.”
“Residents face serious challenges in accessing basic services such as healthcare, clean water and sanitation facilities, amid a notable increase in deaths and heightened anxiety over an imminent large-scale Israeli ground operation,” the UN agency said.