Israeli authorities announced Monday that they had discussed with foreign negotiators meeting in Qatar a new draft agreement on the release of hostages held in Gaza, at a time when the war rages against Hamas in the Palestinian territory and against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The head of Mossad, Israeli foreign intelligence, David Barnea, met in Qatar with CIA chief Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman al-Thani to discuss this “new draft agreement”, the office announced of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Discussions “will continue in the coming days between the mediators and Hamas”, to study “the feasibility of the talks” and “try to move them towards an agreement”, indicated the Prime Minister’s office.
The project, according to this source, “integrates previous proposals and takes into account recent events in the region”.
The day before, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, whose country is one of the mediators with the United States and Qatar, had proposed a two-day ceasefire “during which four Israeli hostages held in Gaza would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
This truce would be followed “within ten days” by negotiations with a view to a “complete ceasefire and the entry of humanitarian aid” into the territory.
“Stop the war”
US President Joe Biden said Monday that his teams were taking stock of ongoing efforts. “We must stop this war. It must stop, it must stop, it must stop,” he repeated, after having voted early for the American election.
Despite international pressure, Israel continues its offensive against Hamas and Hezbollah, two Islamist movements supported by Iran, and carried out strikes on Saturday against military targets on Iranian territory.
Iran is seeking to build “stockpiles of nuclear bombs with the aim of destroying Israel” and “could threaten the entire world,” Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.
Saturday's strikes have “changed the balance of forces” between the two countries, declared its Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, estimating that “the enemy has been weakened, both in its capacity to build missiles and in its ability to defend oneself”.
Iran threatened Israel on Monday with “unimaginable” consequences after these strikes carried out in response to Iranian missile launches on October 1 on Israel.
In this tense context, the UN Security Council is due to meet urgently on Monday at 7:00 p.m. GMT, at the request of Iran, to discuss the situation in the Middle East.
Cyril Julien and Jonathan Sawaya, with AFP
