Hamas met once more on Sunday with mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States on Sunday, following negotiations started in Cairo the day before.
The Palestinian group is under heavy pressure from the United States, which wants Hamas to accept a proposal for a cease-fire that Israel has helped design. CIA Director William Burns arrived in Cairo on Friday, according to Egyptian security sources.
Israel’s own negotiating team did not attend the meetings.
On Sunday evening, the Hamas delegation left Cairo and traveled to Doha for further consultations, an anonymous official close to the negotiations told the AFP news agency.
Threatening Rafah offensive
Both Israel and Hamas have both issued signals indicating little progress towards a ceasefire in Gaza.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant accuses Hamas of not wanting to enter into an agreement with Israel and warns of actions both in Rafah and the rest of Gaza shortly.
– We recognize that there are dangerous signals that Hamas does not actually intend to follow any agreement with us. That means action in Rafah and on the entire Gaza Strip in the near future, said Gallant.
Hamas, for its part, has been clear that it will not agree to a ceasefire that does not bring an end to the Gaza war.
– The State of Israel cannot accept this. We are not ready to accept a situation where Hamas battalions come out of their bunkers, take control of Gaza once more, rebuild their military infrastructure and once more threaten Israel’s citizens, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
Al Jazeera taken off the air
On Sunday, Israel decided that the Arab news channel Al Jazeera will be banned in the country. The channel continued its broadcasts a few hours following the announcement, but on Sunday followingnoon the channel was taken off the air.
Israel has long accused Al Jazeera of being one-sided and biased, and already ten years ago the then foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman advocated banning the channel from operating in Israel.
Al Jazeera rejected these accusations in a statement on Sunday, condemning what it described as an “Israeli criminal act” that violates the human right of access to information
– We will seek all opportunities from international and legal organizations to protect our rights and our employees, the channel states.
Israeli police on Sunday followingnoon conducted a raid on a hotel room in Jerusalem that serves as the office of Al Jazeera, according to Reuters.
The attacks continue
At the same time, Israeli attacks continue in various parts of Gaza. A journalist from the AFP news agency and several eyewitnesses tell of grenade attacks and shooting in the area of Gaza City in the north of the Palestinian Territory, as well as a rocket attack once morest a house in the Rafah area.
The Israeli attacks have so far cost over 34,600 Palestinians their lives, while over 77,000 have been injured. In addition, an estimated 10,000 are missing in the ruins of Gaza, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense.
While the negotiations are ongoing in Cairo, the American head of the World Food Program has determined that northern Gaza is now affected by “full-scale famine”.
Both Hamas and Israel have made statements in which they maintain their previous positions and show no signs of wanting to budge.
At the same time, the pressure once morest Netanyahu from the people is increasing. On Saturday evening, thousands of Israelis gathered in the streets of Tel Aviv. The protesters are demanding an agreement that can bring the Israeli hostages in Gaza home. Loud criticism of Netanyahu and demands for new elections also characterized the demonstration.
“Negotiations now – then leave,” read posters carried by the protesters.
#Hopes #ceasefire #Israel #Hamas #fading
2024-05-06 13:03:22
