While the bombings on the Strip continue, in the last few hours diplomats have intensified their efforts to reach an albeit temporary solution for a ceasefire in Gaza and the delivery of the Israeli hostages. Egypt has invited the delegations of the Jewish State and Hamas to Cairo to find an agreement after months of impasse with the Qatari mediators in Doha, and even from Riyadh, where the World Economic Forum is underway, there are rumors about a possible agreement between the parties involved in the conflict, after over 200 days of fighting. Sameh Shoukry, Foreign Minister of Egypt, said he was “confident” about the new truce proposal that the Hamas leaders are currently evaluating: “The proposal took into account the positions of both parties”, he assured the Egyptian minister. It was his British counterpart David Cameron who went into detail about the agreement, highlighting the obstacles to signing it. «This is a very generous proposal», the former prime minister, now a minister in the Sunak government, explained from Riyadh, «40 days of ceasefire and the possible release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of all the Israeli hostages ». Without the release of all the hostages, Cameron says, “the war will not end.” But US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns: «They must decide, and quickly. The only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas.”
The future of the Palestinians
In Saudi Arabia, where Blinken is also located, the future of the Palestinian territories is also being discussed once the military operations on the Strip are concluded. Cameron was clear: for a two-state solution to become feasible, and the one promoted by the most influential regional players, the Hamas leadership and all those who took part in the October 7 attack in Israel must leave Gaza. A condition that appears complex to respect but on which Israel and its allies do not intend to give in. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, after the meeting with Blinken, declared that the two countries are “very, very close” to finding an agreement on the future of the Strip. «Most of the work has already been done», said the minister as reported by Sky News, «we have the broad outlines of what we think should happen on the Palestinian front
The summit in Riyadh
The plan proposed by the Israeli government, obtained thanks to the mediation of Egypt and Qatar, provides for a 40-day pause in the fighting in exchange for the release of at least 33 hostages including women, minors, the elderly and the sick. “The proposal is still being studied,” Izzat al-Risheq, a Hamas official, said today. This afternoon, Monday 29 April, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will also be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a series of meetings and conferences on the war in Gaza and in general on the crisis in the Middle East. Also present was US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will then continue with a new trip to the region to avoid the possibility of a new military escalation in the clash between Israel and Hamas. «Hamas faces an extraordinarily generous proposal from Israel. And right now – Blinken said from Riyadh – the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas. They have to decide and they have to decide quickly. I hope they will make the right decision, we can have a fundamental change in the dynamic.”
Negotiations in Egypt
While foreign ministers meet in Saudi Arabia to discuss the situation in Gaza, negotiations continue in Egypt to obtain a temporary ceasefire and the return of hostages held by Hamas. Today the Egyptian government invited an Israeli delegation to go to Cairo for a meeting in which the Palestinian militia organization should also participate. The invitation, writes the Times of Israel, «aims to speed up the process and provide the necessary clarifications on the observations that will be presented by the Hamas delegation that will travel to Cairo». The Israeli delegation, an anonymous source explains to the newspaper, “will be authorized to provide answers to the requests raised by Hamas, but will not be authorized to take decisions or present official positions”.
The Israeli raids in Rafah
It is at least 27 deaths, according to Al Jazeera, the toll of the Israeli night bombings on Rafah and Gaza City. According to some Palestinian health officials, among the victims there are six women and five children, including a five-day-old newborn. Many other people were then injured in air strikes that hit three houses in Rafah, the southernmost city of the Palestinian enclave. “Only the Americans can stop them”, warned Abu Mazen, president of the Palestinian National Authority, in recent hours regarding Israel’s attacks against Rafah. While Benjamin Netanyahu ignores international pressure from those asking him to pause the military campaign on Gaza, a summit is underway in Saudi Arabia to try to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas: «Our leadership remains in Doha»
Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, denies rumors according to which the political leadership of the Palestinian terrorist group could leave Qatar to move to Iraq, Syria or Turkey. “Any potential transfer, which is not happening at the moment, would take place in Jordan,” Marzouk told Iranian TV al-Alam. «Jordan – he added – is a nation that supports the Palestinian resistance and Hamas maintains a positive relationship with the Jordanian government».
On the cover: A camp for displaced people in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip (EPA/Haitham Imad)
