The second phase of the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas is not yet secure. This Tuesday, March 4, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Israeli has listed a series of conditions to activate its implementation. Among them, “the total demilitarization of the Gaza Strip” and the return of all hostages. Gideon Saar also justified his decision to cut the entry of any merchandise or equipment for the Palestinian territory, saying that humanitarian aid had become “the first source of income” in Hamas. The latter was quick to react, responding that “any discussion on the weapons of the Resistance (to Israel)” was a “nonsense”. The Arab countries are gathered in Cairo to discuss a counter-proposition in the plan of Donald Trump for Gaza.
Info to remember
⇒ Israel requires “total demilitarization of Gaza” to go to phase two of the truce
⇒ An Arab Summit in Cairo to discuss an alternative to the Donald Trump project on Gaza
⇒ The Minister of Israeli Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, in a “flash visit” in the United States
Mohammed ben Salmane absent from the top on Gaza
Crown prince Mohammed bin Salmane, de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, will be absent from the Arab summit dedicated to the Gaza Strip on Tuesday in Cairo, where the kingdom will be represented by his leader of diplomacy, according to the official Saudi agency SPA.
“In the name of (…) King Salmane, (…) Prince Fayçal Ben Farhane, Minister of Foreign Affairs, arrived today in Cairo to direct the delegation of the kingdom participating at the extraordinary Arabic summit”, which must open in the early afternoon, said SPA.
Hamas asked the top to “thwart” Donald Trump’s plan on Gaza.
Israel requires “Total Gaza Demilitarization” to go to phase two of the truce
Israel requires “total demilitarization of the Gaza Strip” to move on to the implementation of the second phase of the truce agreement concluded in January with Hamas through international mediation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday Israeli. There is “no agreement on phase two,” Gideon Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem. “We are asking for a total demilitarization of Gaza. Hamas and Islamic jihad outside. And make us our hostages. If they accept that, we can implement the two phase,” he added.
The disarmament of Hamas is a “red line”, quickly replied to AFP Sami Abu Zouhri, one of the leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement. “Any discussion on the weapons of the Resistance (in Israel) is a nonsense. The weapons of the resistance are a red line for Hamas and all the resistance groups,” he continued. “It is a non-negotiable question” and “any discussion on the deportation of the resistance fighters or our people is rejected” in advance, he said.
Gideon Saar also affirmed that humanitarian aid had become “the first source of income” of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in order to justify the decision of his country to cut the entry of any merchandise or equipment for the Palestinian territory. “They use it as an engine to continue the war against Israel,” he said. “It cannot continue and it will not continue.”
Note that more than 2,300 children were treated for acute malnutrition in January 2025 in Gaza, reported the UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordination Office (OCHA), stressing that acute malnutrition was almost non -existent before the war.
Arab Summit in Cairo to discuss an alternative to the Donald Trump project on Gaza
Arab leaders must discuss this Tuesday in Cairo on Tuesday an alternative project to that of Donald Trump on Gaza, which provides for American control of the territory and the expulsion of its population, in full swing of the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas. The plan of the American president, rejected by the Arab countries, the Palestinians and many other international states and organizations, was praised by Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, who said on Monday that “it is time to give the inhabitants of Gaza the freedom to leave”.
The Gaza Strip was devastated by 15 months of a devastating war between Israel and Hamas, triggered by the attack on the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023. The UN estimates more than $ 53 billion the cost of reconstruction of this ruined territory, where has been besieged for almost 17 months by Israel. At the opening of the extraordinary Arabic summit around 4:00 p.m. locals (3:00 p.m. French time) the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and the King of Bahrain, Hamad Ben Issa Al Khalifa, must in particular pronounce speeches, according to the order of the day published by the Panarabe organization. Among the heads of state present, the acting Syrian president, Ahmad al-Chareh.
The Minister of Israeli Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, in “lightning visit” in the United States
Israeli Minister of Israeli, Bezalel Smotrich, supporter of the West Bank’s annexation, said Tuesday that he took off for a “flash visit” in the United States. “I took off last night for a flash visit to the United States, where I will meet government officials, including the US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent,” wrote Bezalel Smotrich on X while US President Donald Trump could officially comment in the days of the question of the annexation of all or part of the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.
“The objective of this visit is to strengthen economic cooperation between Israel and the United States, to promote joint economic initiatives and to deepen the strategic alliance between our two countries,” adds Bezalel Smotrich, far-right colonist without the support of which the Israeli Prime Minister would lose his majority.
Iran castigates Turkey’s “displaced” remarks
Iran warned Turkey that words deemed “moved” by Tehran on its regional policy could lead to “tensions” between the two neighboring countries. During an interview broadcast at the end of February by Qatari Al-Jazeera, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was invited to comment on Iran’s regional policy and his support for several armed groups opposed to Israel.
In addition to Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthi rebels in Yemen and the militias in Iraq, Tehran militarily and financially supports Hezbollah, an Islamist movement created in 1982 with the help of the Islamic Republic and Armed Bat of Iran in Lebanon.