The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas must give its response on Monday April 29 to a proposed truce in the war with Israel in Gaza, besieged and threatened with famine, associated with the release of hostages. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, where a special meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is being held on the conflict.
Information to remember
⇒ Hamas gives its response on a truce in Gaza
⇒ Blinken on tour in the Middle East
⇒ Humanitarian aid: the “pier” is not enough
Hamas gives its response on a truce in Gaza
A tripartite meeting is to take place in Cairo between Egypt, Qatar and Hamas, the delegation of which will be led by Khalil al-Hayya, a member of the movement’s political branch for the Gaza Strip and very involved in the negotiations, indicated a senior Hamas official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “The atmosphere is positive, barring new obstacles posed by Israel,” an official of the Islamist movement who requested anonymity told AFP. “No major issues are raised in the observations and requests that Hamas will submit regarding the content of the proposal” during this meeting, he added.
This is a proposal developed by Egypt and amended by Israel. It was presented in response to Hamas which, in mid-April, insisted on a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a hypothesis that Israel refuses to consider. The details of the Israeli proposal have not been filtered but according to the American news site Axios, which cites Israeli officials, it includes the desire to discuss “the establishment of lasting calm” in Gaza.
Blinken begins Middle East tour in Saudi Arabia
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, where a special meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the conflict is being held, the first stop on a tour of the Middle East aimed at promoting a truce between Israel and Hamas and the entry of more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
Antony Blinken, who will then visit Jordan and Israel, will meet several of his counterparts from the Gulf and European countries in Riyadh to discuss plans to rebuild the Gaza Strip after the war, a department official said. of state.
On Sunday, during this two-day summit bringing together senior Arab and Western leaders in Riyadh, the head of Saudi diplomacy, Prince Faisal bin Farhane, affirmed that “the situation in Gaza is clearly a catastrophe from all points of view, humanitarian, but also a total failure of the existing political system to deal with the crisis.
Palestinian Authority president wants to prevent ‘disaster’
Invited to the event, the President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas called on Washington to prevent the ground offensive that Israel claims to be preparing against the town of Rafah, in the south of Gaza, already regularly bombed, and where crowds one and a half million Palestinians, mainly displaced people.
“America is the only country capable of preventing Israel from committing this crime,” declared Mahmoud Abbas, according to whom such an operation, announced by Israeli officials, would be “the greatest disaster in the history of the Palestinian people” .
The Israeli government opens the door
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Israeli channel N12 on Saturday “that if there is a (truce) agreement, we will suspend the operation in Rafah.” “The release of the hostages is a fundamental priority for us,” he added. “If there is a possibility of reaching an agreement, we will do it,” he added.
During the night from Sunday to Monday, three Israeli strikes in Rafah killed 16 people, hospital sources told AFP. Two other strikes left seven dead in Gaza City (center), according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. The Israeli army said on Sunday it had struck “dozens of terrorist targets” in central Gaza. And throughout Saturday, the Israeli navy targeted Hamas targets and provided support to troops deployed in the center of the territory, the army said Sunday.
Humanitarian aid: the “pier” is not enough
In addition to the destruction and heavy human toll, the war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the Palestinian territory where 2.4 million people live. Strictly controlled by Israel, humanitarian aid comes in trickles. Faced with Israel’s delays and blockages regarding the land delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, United States President Joe Biden announced in early March the construction of an artificial port.
The pier under construction in Gaza should allow more aid to be delivered within “two to three weeks” but “nothing can replace the land roads and trucks entering” Gaza, declared the spokesperson for the Council National Security Director John Kirby on Sunday.
During a telephone exchange on Sunday, Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu, in this area, “discussed an increase in the delivery of humanitarian aid” to Gaza, “in particular via preparations for the opening this week of new crossing points in the north” of the coastal territory, according to a press release from the White House. Joe Biden insisted “on the need for lasting and amplified progress in full coordination with humanitarian organizations”.