2024-03-21 16:22:00
It’s morning in Gaza. This is what you need to know
Smoke rises during an Israeli raid on and around Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Wednesday, March 20. (Credit: Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)
Negotiations to achieve a ceasefire linked to the release of hostages held by Hamas are “getting closer” to reaching an agreement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.
“We worked very hard with Qatar, Egypt and Israel to put a solid proposal on the table. We did that; Hamas would not accept it. They returned with other requests, other demands. Negotiators are working on that right now,” Blinken said.
Israel’s response to Hamas’ latest counterproposal “was generally negative” and did not respond to Hamas’ demands, according to Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan.
The counterproposal presented last week included the Israeli hostage release of between 700 and 1,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Hamas’ proposal “unrealistic.”
Blinken, who is traveling through the Middle East, will travel to Egypt today to meet with Arab leaders and will head to Israel this Friday.
Here are some other key developments:
Raid on a hospital: Israel’s incursion into the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City has lasted three days. Civilians in the hospital are running out of basic needs, a Gaza Civil Defense spokesman said. The Israeli army said it had killed 90 “terrorists” and detained a senior Hamas official allegedly involved in the murder of three children in 2014. According to eyewitness accounts, Israeli forces shot people at the hospital and detained journalists and Palestinian health workers who were blindfolded and stripped to their underwear.
Israeli court stops government plan– Israel’s Supreme Court temporarily halted a government plan to send a group of Palestinian hospital patients and babies back to Gaza following a CNN report. The decision comes after a petition from an Israeli non-profit organization, which decided to take action following the CNN report.
Rafah evacuation plan: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government will soon approve a plan for the evacuation of civilians from the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where around 1.5 million are sheltered. people. But he suggested that the planned military offensive against the city was not imminent.
Canada suspends arms exports to Israel: Canada “has not approved new arms export permits to Israel” since January 8, “and this will continue until we can ensure full compliance with our export regime.” CNN previously reported that Canada had suspended exports of non-lethal military technology and goods to Israel in January due to the risk that the goods could be used in connection with human rights violations.
Netanyahu addresses Senate Republicans: Israel’s prime minister addressed the Senate Republican political luncheon Wednesday for 15 minutes via video and then answered questions for about 45 minutes, according to Sen. John Kennedy. Netanyahu sharply criticized Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s comments calling for elections to form a new government in Israel, Kennedy said.
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