The United States opposes it. Today talks between Israelis and Egyptians, Israel could accept an agreement that provides for the release of at least 33 hostages
Israel is preparing to attack Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold in the south of the Strip, where several hostages from October 7 may be held captive and over a million fleeing Palestinians have found refuge. In recent hours, the army has amassed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles along the southern border with Gaza, at the Israeli Kerem Shalom crossing, near Rafah, as reported by journalists who saw the movement of military vehicles. The operation was announced after the Israeli army, the IDF, confirmed that it had completed preparations for entry and that the date of the operation depends only on the approval of the war cabinet. This move could have a significant impact on regional stability and the prospects for future negotiations.
The movements indicate that Israel is intensifying efforts to take control of the southern Gaza area. The 162 brigade, previously positioned in the north and center of the Strip, has now moved closer to Rafah, confirming the growing pressure on the city. A senior Israeli officer, emerging from a long war cabinet, confirmed the intention to attack Rafah: “We are headed to Rafah without a doubt. There is no contradiction between this operation and an agreement for the return of hostages. The closer we get to Rafah, the more Egyptian involvement increases, of course”.
Egypt and the United States have expressed their opposition to the Israeli operation, trying to convince Israel that there are “other ways to hit Hamas”. At the same time, the US government brought together a coalition of 18 countries, including France, Germany and Great Britain, to demand the immediate release of hostages in Gaza as a condition for reaching a ceasefire.
However, Hamas continues to make demands that Israel finds unacceptable. Khalil al-Hayya, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, has put forward the proposal of a five-year truce in exchange for the creation of a Palestinian state in the pre-1967 borders. Israel has made it known that it will accept an agreement that provides for the release of at least 33 hostages, among women, the elderly and the wounded, as a high-ranking Israeli official told the media at the end of the talks between Israel and the Egyptian delegation. “We will not allow Hamas to talk about 20 hostages as they did” previously, the source stressed to Channel 12. The official then added that the Jewish State is willing to make important concessions such as the return of the Palestinians to northern Gaza and the withdrawal of the army from the Netzarim Corridor which bisects the Strip.
A senior Israeli official told Channel 12 That “this is the last opportunity“to reach an agreement”before the army enters Rafah“. Israel therefore made it clear to the Egyptians that it will not allow Hamas to waste time or “drag your feet“to prevent the military operation in Rafah.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian death toll in Gaza has risen to 34,356 of which 77,368 have been injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October. This was reported by the Strip’s Ministry of Health, adding that 51 people were killed and 75 injured in the last 24 hours.
If a truce is reached, it will take about 14 years to free the Gaza Strip from the 37 million tons of rubble caused by Israeli retaliation for the attack suffered by Hamas. The estimate was illustrated in Geneva by Pehr Lodhammar, senior official of Unmas, the United Nations Mine Action Service. According to Lodhammar it is also practically impossible to determine the exact number of unexploded devices in Gaza and in this context it will be even more difficult to remove debris and rubble from destroyed buildings.
”We estimate 14 years of work with 100 trucks”, he declared, explaining that ”we know that there is typically a failure rate of at least 10% of ammunition that is fired and doesn’t work“.
Photo © Imagoeconomica
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