2024-05-05 16:40:00
Israel and Palestine discuss ceasefire plan in Egypt for two days. Biden sends CIA director to press for deal. Lee and Will will force ground war in the Rafah region.
“Netanyahu resigns” Demonstration for a ceasefire in Israel On the 4th, citizens demonstrated in Tel Aviv, the largest city in Israel, to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the release of hostages held by the Palestinian armed group Hamas. They demanded a quick ceasefire, chanting slogans such as “ceasefire immediately” and “there are no winners in the war.” Tel Aviv = AP Newssis
Whether or not to include an “end of war” has become a key issue in the ongoing negotiations over the ceasefire and release of hostages in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas. US President Joe Biden, who faced a roadblock in his path to re-election due to protests by students opposed to the Middle East war, expressed opposition to Israel’s plan to force a ground war in Rafah , in the southern Gaza Strip, and pressured Hamas leaders to expel the Hamas office in Qatar. Everyone demanded a quick resolution.
Israel and Hamas discussed a ceasefire plan in Cairo, Egypt, for two days, the 4th and 5th. In particular, it was reported that the inclusion of the end of the war, which emerged as a key issue in the negotiations on the 5th, was a major topic of discussion. Previously, Israel had offered to release 900 Palestinian prisoners and first establish a 40-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of the 33 held hostages.
According to Reuters, Hamas says, “We cannot accept a negotiation plan that does not include a complete end to the war,” and its position is that an end to the war must be included in the negotiation plan, regardless of for the release of the hostages. . On the other hand, the far-right coalition government led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not abandoning its drive to force a ground war, saying that Hamas leadership in the Rafah region must be destroyed regardless of ceasefire negotiations. According to the Telegraph, Prime Minister Netanyahu took a hard line on the 5th, declaring: “I am ready to suspend fighting for a hostage exchange, but I cannot accept the end of the war or the withdrawal troops from Gaza until the objectives of the war are achieved. (like the destruction of Hamas) are respected.
President Biden, troubled by recent anti-war protests on major college campuses, dispatched William Burns, director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to Cairo on the 3rd to put pressure on both sides. First, he threatened to pressure Hamas to close its office in Doha, the capital of Qatar. Hamas has operated its leadership office in Doha, rather than the Gaza Strip, since 2012 with support from Qatar.
US Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who recently completed his trip to the Middle East, also said on the 3rd: “If there is no civilian evacuation plan, we cannot support the large-scale military operation carried out by Israel in the Rafah region. “The damage exceeds an acceptable level,” he said, putting pressure on Israel. The international community fears that if Israel launches a ground war, an astronomical number of casualties will occur in the Rafah region, where at least a million refugees reside.
Seven months following the start of the war in the Middle East on the 7th, the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip is also worsening. On the 4th, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said: “A large-scale famine has started in the northern part of the Gaza Strip and is spreading to the south,” adding: “The current situation is terrifying. “It’s very difficult to watch,” he said.
Cairo = Correspondent Kim Ki-yoon [email protected]
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