Hamas’ response to the Israeli offer of a ceasefire in exchange for 33 hostages, supported by Saudi Arabia and the United States and mediated with Egypt and Qatar, is awaited. If the answer is negative, Israel will attack Rafah in 48-72 hours
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One is expected Hamas response to Israeli offer of 40-day ceasefire and the release of hundreds of Palestinian detainees in exchange for the release of dozens of Israeli hostages in Gaza, which regional powers (Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar) and the United States discussed during the visit of the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, in Riyadh on Monday.
The British Foreign Secretary revealed details about the plan, David Cameronpresent in Saudi Arabia at the World Economic Forum, who described the offer as “generous”.
The US president himself Joe Bidenspoke about the agreement on Monday in two phone calls with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah A-Sisi.
Israel has called for the release of 33 hostages, Hamas has called for an end to the war in Gaza
Israel had initially asked for the release of 40 hostages and this dropped to 33 according to CNN. In the event of a negative outcome to the truce proposal, the invasion prepared for weeks will be launched on Rafah within “a few days” according to the Israeli military radio GLZ, a maximum of three according to the Israeli website Ynet.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he is under pressure from the hostages’ families for a deal, and in the opposite direction from members of the radical right of his government. During a meeting with representatives of the families of the hostages and their families, the Israeli prime minister declared that “the idea of ending the war before achieving all our objectives is unacceptable. We we will enter Rafah and we will annihilate all the Hamas battalions present there, with or without an agreementto achieve total victory.”
Blinken will be in Tel Aviv on Wednesdayafter a stop in Jordan.
A Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan, told Al Jazeera that there is nothing generous “about stopping a crime” but conceded that it is clear that Israel does not want a “full ceasefire.” A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Monday.
New raids on Gaza, the IGC decides on Germany’s weapons to Israel
Israeli airstrikes have killed three people in the Nuseirat refugee camp and two people in Gaza City, bringing the number of deaths in the Strip on Monday to 47 in the last twenty-four hours according to Palestinian health authorities.
According to the Israeli army, underground tunnels and missile and rocket emplacements were hit after some launches towards Sderot, in the south of the country.
On Tuesday, the United Nations International Court of Justice is expected to issue an order of precautionary measures in the case brought by Nicaragua against Germany for violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Nicaragua accuses Germany of supplying weapons that Israel used in the war on Gaza.
