Jerusalem – The Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Tuesday that an Israeli army assessment revealed that Tel Aviv will make a decision “within hours” regarding starting its military operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, or agreeing on an exchange deal with the Palestinian faction movement.
She stated that the Israeli army assessment that she reviewed “estimated that within the next 48 to 72 hours, a decision will be made that will constitute the end of the (military) operation in the Gaza Strip; Either a hostage deal with the factional movement, or the army’s entry into Rafah.”
This assessment comes as the United States intensifies its opposition to the Israeli operation in Rafah, fearing the humanitarian difficulties of working in that small area, which is crowded with regarding 60 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt, according to the newspaper.
She explained that American opposition to the military operation continues “despite Israeli promises and the submission of plans to evacuate some residents to safe and specific compounds in (the areas of) Khan Yunis and Al-Mawasi, north of Rafah.”
She continued: “American sensitivity towards this step has worsened (…) The concern stems from the fact that any incident in Rafah would result in the death of uninvolved Palestinians, in disproportionate responses once morest Israel.”
It claimed that the killing of uninvolved Palestinians in Rafah during that potential operation “contradicts the legitimacy that Israel enjoyed when it maneuvered in the rest of the Strip at the beginning of the war.”
She added: “In addition to the pressure exerted by the United States, there is also intense European pressure from the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants once morest Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and also once morest senior Israeli army officials.”
In a related context, the newspaper reported that “the army, for its part, prepared more for this operation.”
She said: “Yesterday, Chief of Staff Major General Herzi Halevy approved all action plans in Rafah and the central camps. In any case, the process will take place in stages, with the option to stop in favor of negotiations or agreement this week.”
Earlier Tuesday, the Hebrew Broadcasting Authority (official) reported that the potential operation in Rafah “will begin soon if negotiations fail” regarding the agreement with the faction movement.
Cairo is making efforts with Israel and the faction movement as one of the mediation parties alongside Qatar and the United States, in an attempt to reach an agreement to exchange Israeli prisoners for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons and a prolonged ceasefire in Gaza.
Yesterday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry revealed that there is an actual proposal at the negotiating table regarding reaching a truce in Gaza, and he expressed his country’s optimism regarding that proposal.
While the Egyptian side or the faction movement did not issue an official announcement regarding the details of the proposal, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that it “includes the release of the 134 Israeli prisoners (according to Tel Aviv estimates) in 3 stages, starting with 33 prisoners, and then the rest in two stages with a time interval of 10 weeks.”
The newspaper indicated that the factional movement demands the release of 50 prisoners for every Israeli soldier, and 30 prisoners for every civilian it detains.
While Israel pledges, according to the same source, “to stop all preparations to enter the city of Rafah by land, and to a complete ceasefire for a year, during which the implementation of movements to establish a Palestinian state will be announced.”
Since October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving tens of thousands of civilian victims, most of them children and women, a humanitarian catastrophe and massive infrastructure destruction, which led to Tel Aviv being brought before the International Court of Justice on charges of “genocide.”
Anatolia
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2024-05-02 03:34:43
