2024-03-22 03:02:21
This content was published on 22 March 2024 – 04:02
By Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Daphne Salidakis
CAIRO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea will head to Qatar on Friday to participate in negotiations to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip at a time when the United States plans to present a draft resolution calling for an immediate truce in the Strip to a vote in the UN Security Council, which will increase pressure. On her ally.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday in Cairo that he believes the talks brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt could still lead to a ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel.
The ongoing negotiations in Qatar revolve around a truce for about six weeks that allows for the release of 40 Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, which paves the way for the entry of more aid into the Gaza Strip, where the specter of famine looms on the horizon due to the severe food shortage.
“The negotiators continue to work,” Blinken said. The gaps are narrowing as we continue to push for an agreement in Doha. There is still difficult work to get to this point. But I still believe it is possible.”
The main sticking point is that Hamas says it will only release the hostages as part of an agreement that would end the war, while Israel says it will only discuss a temporary truce.
A Palestinian official familiar with the mediation efforts, who requested to remain anonymous, told Reuters that Hamas is showing flexibility. The official said that Israel “continues to procrastinate because it does not want to commit to ending the war on Gaza.”
A statement issued by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that intelligence chief Barnea will travel to Qatar on Friday to meet with mediators.
Meanwhile, Israel said it expects attacks on Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City to continue for several more days. This facility, which residents reported witnessed the presence of tanks, gunfire, and the outbreak of fire on Thursday, is the only medical facility operating, albeit partially, in the northern Gaza Strip. The hospital has already been under attack for four days.
Israel says that Hamas gunmen are holed up in the medical complex, which the movement denies. Israel announced that it had killed 150 militants and arrested 358 others inside the hospital and surrounding areas in recent days.
* America is putting more pressure on Israel
Washington, which usually protects Israel at the United Nations, is gradually putting more pressure on its long-standing ally, and the introduction of a draft resolution to the UN Security Council reflects further hardening on its part.
This shift coincides with growing global condemnation of the war, the killing of a large number of Palestinian civilians, domestic political opposition to US President Joe Biden’s position, and the possibility of a man-made famine in Gaza.
The draft resolution, seen by Reuters, stipulates an “immediate and sustainable ceasefire” for approximately six weeks that would provide protection for civilians and allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Earlier in the war, the United States opposed even a verbal ceasefire and vetoed measures that included calls for an immediate ceasefire.
The draft resolution supports the Qatar talks, the release of Israeli hostages, and the release of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons. The Israeli Embassy in Washington has not yet responded to a request for comment.
To be adopted, the draft resolution needs the approval of at least nine members and no veto by any of the five permanent members: the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China.
On Thursday, European Union leaders also issued a call for an immediate ceasefire.
The United States wants the Security Council’s support for the ceasefire to be linked to the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostage, according to Israeli statistics.
The Israeli attack led to the death of about 32,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza.
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