Gaza, Egypt attempts desperate mediation to avoid the assault on Rafah –

Israel is preparing to attack Rafah and massing tanks along the southern border with Gaza, at the Israeli Kerem Shalom crossing. Egypt attempts last-minute mediation to try to block the offensive and sends a delegation to Israel to resume talks for a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of the hostages. The team is led by Abbas Kamel, the powerful Egyptian intelligence chief who is expected to meet with Mossad chief David Barnea and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. The current proposed agreement between Israel and Hamas calls for the release of 33 hostages, including women, soldiers, adults and the wounded. The duration of the ceasefire under the agreement will depend on the number of abductees released.

According to a Saudi source, Egypt has nevertheless presented a new proposal to Israel to freeze the Rafah operation in exchange for the start of negotiations. In the border city, a refuge for over a million Palestinians, the international community and humanitarian organizations fear a bloodbath. According to Israeli sources, Netanyahu has not yet given the OK to the operation but everything suggests that it is imminent. Meanwhile, the great escape has begun. According to the IDF, around 150,000-200,000 Palestinian civilians have already left Rafah since 7 April. And between 80,000 and 100,000 people arrived in Egypt. Cairo will therefore try everything to avoid the worst.

According to the Israeli website Walla, which cites a senior Israeli official, the discussions concern a proposal for the initial release of 20 hostages considered “humanitarian” cases. A Hamas political leader, Ghazi Hamad, assured AFP from Qatar that an assault on Rafah will not allow Israel to obtain “what it wants”, that is, “eliminate Hamas or recover” the hostages. But Netanyahu continues to believe that an offensive is necessary to defeat Hamas and free the hostages.