The leader of Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh, arrived in Egypt on Wednesday for discussions on a truce in the war with Israel, the two camps seeming to multiply the signals in favor of a new humanitarian pause which would notably allow the release of hostages held in Gaza. After more than two months of war and despite the continuation of bombings and operations by the Israeli army in the besieged Palestinian territory, negotiations have increased in recent days as have international pressures to obtain a second truce which would also allow improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The main information:
- Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Egypt on Wednesday for talks on a truce in the war with Israel
- On the Israeli side, President Isaac Herzog declared Tuesday that Israel was “ready for a new humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid to allow the release of the hostages”
- Hamas government sources reported on Wednesday Israeli strikes in Rafah, Khan Younes (south), Deir el-Balah (center), in the northern sector of Gaza City, which left at least 11 dead.
- After the death of a new soldier announced on Wednesday, the toll of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza on October 27 reached 133
- 127 trucks of aid and goods entered the territory on Tuesday through the Rafah crossings, via Egypt, and Kerem Shalom, in southern Israel
Many proposals
Negotiated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States, a previous one-week break allowed at the end of November the release of 105 hostages and 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons as well as the entry of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory. subjected to a total siege since October 9. Based in Qatar, Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh arrived in Egypt on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian Islamist movement in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007 and classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel.
At the head of a “high-level” delegation, he must have discussions with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel, “on stopping the aggression and the war, to prepare an agreement for the liberation of prisoners, the end of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip,” a source within Hamas told AFP on Tuesday. “The discussions in Cairo will focus on numerous proposals including that of a one-week truce in exchange for the release by Hamas of 40 Israeli hostages,” a source close to Hamas told AFP on Wednesday, referring to the hostages. detained in Gaza.
Before his departure, Ismaïl Haniyeh met in Doha with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, according to images released by Tehran. A source within Palestinian Islamic Jihad told AFP on Wednesday that the leader of this armed movement, the second largest in the Gaza Strip, Ziad al-Nakhala, would also travel to Cairo early next week.
Israel ‘ready for another break’
On the Israeli side, President Isaac Herzog declared Tuesday that Israel was “ready for a new humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid to allow the release of the hostages.” During a meeting with the families of the hostages on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained that he had recently sent “the head of Mossad to Europe twice to promote a liberation process.”
Israel promised to destroy Hamas after the attack carried out by the terrorist movement on Israeli soil on October 7 which left around 1,140 dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on the latest Israeli toll. Some 250 people were taken hostage during the attack, 129 of whom are still in Gaza, according to Israel. In the Palestinian territory, 19,667 people, mostly women, children and adolescents, were killed by Israeli bombings, according to the latest report from the Hamas Ministry of Health.
Behind the scenes negotiations
Other negotiations in favor of a truce appear to be taking place behind the scenes. According to the Axios website, Israel proposed through Qatar a new pause of at least a week in the fighting in Gaza to organize the release of several dozen hostages. Until now, Hamas has made a cessation of fighting a prerequisite for any new negotiations on this subject. On Tuesday, Palestinian Islamic Jihad increased the pressure by releasing a video of two living hostages, pleading for a compromise that would allow them to return to Israel.
Tough negotiations must also continue on Wednesday at the United Nations: since Monday, the Security Council has been unable to adopt a resolution to speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. The vote has been postponed twice and members are looking for the right formula to avoid a veto from the United States, Israel’s main ally. The text, which initially called for an “urgent and lasting cessation of hostilities” in Gaza, now refers to a “suspension” of fighting.
Humanitarian crisis
On the ground, the bombings continue. Hamas government sources reported on Wednesday Israeli strikes in Rafah, Khan Younis (south), Deir el-Balah (center), in the northern sector of Gaza City, which left at least 11 dead, according to first estimates. “We were woken up by a huge explosion,” Samar Abu Luli, a resident of the Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah, told AFPTV. “We managed by a miracle to escape (…). But where to go? There is no place, no school, no mosque, no clinic, no hospital, everything is destroyed.”
The Israeli army said on Tuesday that it had intensified its operations in Khan Younis and had discovered explosives in a medical center in Shujaiya, a suburb of Gaza City, destroyed Hamas tunnels and killed senior members of the movement, during recent operations . After the death of a new soldier announced on Wednesday, the toll of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza on October 27 reached 133.
The Gaza Strip is facing a profound humanitarian crisis: most hospitals are out of service and 85% of the population, or 1.9 million people, have fled the destruction to take refuge in the south. According to a report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released Wednesday, half of the population suffers from extreme or severe hunger, and 90% regularly go without food for an entire day.
“Not even a grain of flour”
Even if 127 trucks of aid and goods still entered the territory on Tuesday through the Rafah crossing points, via Egypt, and Kerem Shalom, in southern Israel, these supplies are far from meeting the needs. the most basic needs of the population. “Without the clean water, food and sanitation that only a humanitarian ceasefire can provide, child deaths from disease could exceed those killed in bombings,” warned Tuesday Unicef spokesperson.
In Deir el-Balah (center), Youssef Journi despairs at the empty shelves of grocery stores: “if the war continues, you will not find anything in the stores, people will not even find a grain of flour to eat.” In addition to the situation in Gaza, the international community also fears a regional extension of the conflict. The situation remains very tense on the Lebanese-Israeli border and in the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthis, supported by Iran, have said they are determined to continue their attacks on commercial ships they consider “linked to Israel”.