“Soon offensive in Rafah” –

The latest round of talks for a ceasefire concluded in Cairo, but the expected breakthrough is not yet there. Indeed, matters have been complicated by the Netanyahu government’s decision to close the offices of the Qatari broadcaster Al-Jazeera in Israel, accused of broadcasting incitements once morest the Jewish state. And Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant once once more promised the offensive in Rafah, saying that it will begin soon, “in the very near future”. The Hamas delegation left Egypt for Qatar for consultations with its leadership following delivering its response to the proposal on the table to Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with a return to Cairo for further negotiations scheduled for Tuesday, but following the signs of progress in recent days, the negotiations seem to be at a standstill, in particular on the crucial issue of the end of the war.

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The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, took the floor to clarify that Israel will not accept an agreement that includes an end to the war because “we cannot accept demands that imply our surrender” and defined Hamas as “adamant”. Mirror position compared to that of the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, who accuses Netanyahu of sabotaging the negotiation efforts and clarifies that for the group the agreement only exists with the prospect of the end of the war. The closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing with the Strip, which is the main crossing point for humanitarian aid.

The closure was decided by Israel following a Hamas attack on the area conducted with rockets launched from the Rafah area. And it came shortly following the number one of the United Nations World Food Programme, Cindy McCain, in an interview with NBC News said that in Gaza the famine is “moving south”, adding that it is necessary to have “greater ability to bring in other trucks.” Meanwhile, a hail of criticism has fallen on Israel for the ‘shutting down’ of Al-Jazeera: “a criminal act”, the broadcaster defined it; and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the government to lift the ban.