Israel increases strikes in the Gaza Strip on Friday after the departure, without agreement, of the two camps from the negotiating table aimed at achieving a truce and preventing an Israeli offensive on Rafah.
Information to remember
⇒ Artillery fire towards Rafah
⇒ Truce: delegations left Cairo
⇒ UNRWA closes its East Jerusalem HQ
Artillery fire towards Rafah
In the early hours of Friday, AFP teams reported Israeli artillery fire towards Rafah, on the Egyptian border, and witnesses of airstrikes and fighting in the northern city of Gaza.
Defying international warnings, the Israeli army has carried out incursions described as “targeted” in eastern Rafah since Tuesday and taken control of the border crossing with Egypt, blocking a key entry point for convoys. humanitarian aid to the besieged territory. US President Joe Biden has threatened to stop deliveries of certain types of bombs in the event of an offensive on Rafah, the most severe warning from Washington, the main arms supplier to Israel, since the start of the conflict.
“If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. I have already said it, if necessary, we will fight with our nails,” Benyamin Netanyahu responded to President Biden on Thursday. The spokesperson for the Israeli army, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, affirmed for his part that it had enough weapons to “accomplish its mission in Rafah”.
The delegations left Cairo
Meanwhile, Hamas sent a message to other Palestinian factions to explain its views on the status of indirect negotiations with Israel that have been taking place since Wednesday in Cairo.
“The delegation left Cairo for Doha. The occupation rejected the proposal submitted by the mediators which we had accepted. As a result, the ball is now entirely in the occupation’s court”, the name given to Israel by the movement Islamist, he indicated in this letter.
The representatives of Hamas and Israel left Cairo after “two days of negotiations”, reported the media Al-Qahera News, close to Egyptian intelligence, specifying that the efforts of the mediating countries (Egypt, Qatar, United States) “continue to bring together the points of view of the two parties”.
Egypt and the United States at work
Egyptian diplomacy urged Hamas and Israel on Friday to show “flexibility” to reach an agreement “as quickly as possible” to “end the humanitarian tragedy” in the Gaza Strip.
CIA Director William Burns, who was heavily involved in the talks and present in Cairo and Jerusalem this week, returns to the United States on Friday, the White House said. During the night, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Choukri to reiterate American opposition to “a major military operation in Rafah” and its “rejection” of “any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.”
UNRWA closes its East Jerusalem HQ
UNRWA announced Thursday evening that it would close its offices in East Jerusalem after “Israeli extremists” “set fire” to open-air areas of the compound, the head of the UN agency announced. for Palestinian refugees.
Thursday evening, “Israelis set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem”, while “UNRWA personnel and other UN agencies were present” inside, indicates Philippe Lazzarini on X, specifying that no “member of the UN staff was injured”.
Israel in Eurovision final
Israel qualified for Saturday’s Eurovision final in Malmö, Sweden, where thousands of people demonstrated against its participation in the competition due to the war in Gaza.
Young artist Eden Golan won her ticket Thursday evening with the song “Hurricane”, the initial version of which had to be modified because it alluded to the attack by the Islamist group Hamas which bloodied Israel on October 7.