(Jerusalem) Diplomatic efforts for a truce in the fighting in Gaza combined with the release of hostages intensify on Sunday, as Israel continues its strikes on the besieged Palestinian territory threatened with famine.
Posted at 8:26 a.m.
Aymeric VINCENOT with Robbie CORREY-BOULET in Ryad
France Media Agency
A senior Hamas official announced that a delegation from the movement will give its response on Monday in Cairo to a proposed Israeli truce associated with the release of hostages, almost seven months after the start of the war, triggered by the bloody attack on Hamas. Palestinian Islamist movement against Israel on October 7.
On Saturday, Hamas announced that it was “studying” this counter-proposal, specifying that it “will submit its response once its study is completed.”
Meanwhile, the war knows no respite in the small, besieged territory where Hamas took power in 2007. The Israeli army said Sunday it had struck “dozens of terrorist targets” in central Gaza.
It also claims to be preparing a ground offensive in Rafah where there are a million and a half Palestinians, mainly displaced people. Many capitals and humanitarian organizations fear a bloodbath in this city already regularly bombarded by the army.
PHOTO HATEM KHALED, REUTERS ARCHIVES
A young girl pours water in a camp in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on April 27.
From Saudi Arabia, where a special meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is being held from Sunday, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, called on the United States to prevent a ground invasion in Rafah. If it were to take place, the operation would be the “greatest disaster in the history of the Palestinian people,” he said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also expected in Saudi Arabia, where he will notably discuss “ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that allows the release of hostages”, according to the State Department .
PHOTO EVELYN HOCKSTEIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
In Beirut, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, will discuss on Sunday with Lebanese officials ways to avoid an extension of the conflict.
Since the start of the war, there have been daily exchanges of fire on Israel’s northern border between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah.
“A deal now”
These diplomatic negotiations are taking place while awaiting Hamas’ response to the Israeli counter-proposal.
The details of this proposal have not filtered, but according to the Axios site, which cites Israeli officials, it includes the desire to discuss “the establishment of lasting calm” in Gaza.
Meanwhile, internal pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government continues to increase. On Saturday evening, thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv to demand the release of hostages kidnapped on October 7.
PHOTO JACK GUEZ, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
On Saturday evening, thousands of people gathered in Tel Aviv to demand the release of hostages kidnapped on October 7.
That day, Hamas commandos carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel resulting in the deaths of 1,170 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli data. More than 250 people have been kidnapped and 129 remain captive in Gaza, 34 of whom have died according to Israeli officials.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to annihilate Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organization, as well as the United States and the European Union. Its offensive in Gaza left 34,454 dead, mostly civilians, according to a new report from the Hamas Ministry of Health on Sunday.
“A deal, now!” » chanted the demonstrators on Saturday evening, while calling on the Netanyahu government to resign. Shortly before, Hamas released a video showing two hostages, Keith Siegel, 64, and Omri Miran, 47. This is the second video released in several days by Hamas.
At the rally in Tel Aviv, Mr Miran’s father urged Hamas to “show humanity”, also asking it to “make a decision now”.
Strikes and artillery fire
On the ground, there was no lull. Throughout Saturday, the Israeli navy targeted Hamas targets and provided support to troops deployed in the center of the territory, the army said Sunday.
According to an AFP correspondent, the Israeli army carried out airstrikes and artillery fire in several areas of the Gaza Strip, notably in Khan Younes and Rafah, two towns in the south of the territory, as well as on the city of Gaza (North).
In total, 66 Palestinians died in 24 hours, according to Hamas.
“We are tired after seven months of displacement and struggle in the camps. So we insisted on returning and staying in a tent on the rubble of our house in Khan Younes, Abdelqader Mohammed Qwaider told AFPTV.
In addition to the destruction and heavy human toll, the war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe in the Palestinian territory where 2.4 million people live. Strictly controlled by Israel, humanitarian aid comes in trickles.
On Saturday, a British ship left Cyprus to accommodate hundreds of US military personnel who are building an artificial pier in Gaza to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.
In the process, Cyprus announced that a ship loaded with aid, which returned from Gaza in early April after an Israeli strike killed seven humanitarian workers, was heading back towards the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli army said on Saturday that 25,000 humanitarian aid trucks had entered Gaza since October 7. The UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) puts the figure at 23,000 trucks.
