both sides leave the negotiating table in Cairo

Israel increases strikes in the Gaza Strip on Friday after the departure, without agreement, of the two camps from the negotiating table aimed at achieving a truce and preventing an Israeli offensive on Rafah. In the early hours of Friday, AFP teams reported Israeli artillery fire towards Rafah, on the Egyptian border, and witnesses of airstrikes and fighting in the northern city of Gaza. Le Figaro takes stock of the latest events linked to the conflict.

Strikes on Gaza, Hamas and Israel leave Cairo talks

Hamas sent a message to the other Palestinian factions to explain its point of view on the state of indirect negotiations with Israel which have been taking place since Wednesday in Cairo. “The delegation left Cairo for Doha. The occupation rejected the proposal submitted by the mediators which we had accepted. As a result, the ball is now entirely in the occupation’s court», name given to Israel by the Islamist movement, he indicated in this letter.

Representatives of Hamas and Israel left Cairo after “two days of negotiations», reported the media Al-Qahera Newsclose to Egyptian intelligence, specifying that the efforts of the mediating countries (Egypt, Qatar, United States) “continue to bring together the points of view of the two parties“.

Read alsoHope for truce fades with Israel’s Rafah attack

Egypt calls on Hamas and Israel to show ‘flexibility’ for Gaza truce

Egypt calls on Hamas and Israel to demonstrate “flexibility» in order to achieve “as soon as possible» to a truce in the fighting in Gaza associated with the release of hostages, according to a press release from his Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During a telephone interview with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri stressed “the importance of urging the parties to show flexibility and make all necessary efforts to reach a truce agreement and thus end the humanitarian tragedy» in Gaza, the ministry said.

Cairo also fears that “dangers» of an Israeli operation in Rafah, a Gazan town located on its border, threatens the “stability and security» of the region, continues Egyptian diplomacy. During this exchange, Antony Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ opposition to “a major military operation in Rafah» and «any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza“, declared its spokesperson, Matthew Miller. On Tuesday, the Israeli army deployed tanks into Rafah and took control of the border crossing with Egypt, blocking the main gateway for humanitarian aid convoys to the besieged Palestinian territory.

Read alsoGaza: Biden warns Israel that it will not provide weapons to attack Rafah, the Jewish state disappointed

Blocked from becoming UN members, Palestinians appeal to the General Assembly

After the American veto on their full membership in the UN, the Palestinians should obtain on Friday thanks to the General Assembly some additional rights within the organization, a symbolic advance which has already provoked the anger of Israel. Faced with the war in Gaza, the Palestinians, who have a status “non-member observer state», had relaunched at the beginning of April their 2011 request demanding to become a full member state of the United Nations.

To succeed, such an initiative requires, before a vote by the General Assembly by a two-thirds majority, a positive recommendation from the Security Council. But the United States vetoed it on April 18. So the Palestinians decided to turn to the General Assembly, where according to several observers and diplomats, they should receive a large majority.

The draft resolution presented by the United Arab Emirates “notes that the State of Palestine meets the conditions required for membership» of the UN, and “should therefore be admitted to the Organization”. He thus requests that the Security Council “reconsiders the matter favorably“. A more than improbable prospect given the position of Washington which opposes any recognition outside of a bilateral agreement between the Palestinians and their Israeli ally, whose government rejects the two-state solution.

UNRWA closes its East Jerusalem HQ after attempted fire by “Israeli extremists”

Unrwa announced Thursday evening that it would close its offices in East Jerusalem after “Israeli extremists” have “set fire» to open-air areas of the compound, announced the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Thursday evening,Israelis twice set fire to UNRWA HQ perimeter in occupied East Jerusalem“, and this while “personnel from UNRWA and other UN agencies were present” inside, indicates Philippe Lazzarini on X, specifying that no “no UN staff member was injured“. “I have made the decision to close the enclosure until adequate security is re-established.“, he adds, denouncing a “second heinous incident in less than a week» committed by “Israeli extremists» and in which “the lives of UN employees were put in serious danger“.

These UNRWA offices house a service station for the UN agency’s vehicles, he emphasizes, recalling that he “is the responsibility of the State of Israel, as the occupying power, to ensure that United Nations personnel and facilities are permanently protected“. In a video posted on his account, filmed from outside the UN compound, demonstrators can be heard proclaiming “Burn the United Nations!“, while on the other side of the wire fence a UN employee extinguishes the burning vegetation with a garden hose.

Antony Blinken reaffirms Washington’s opposition to any movement of Palestinians to Gaza

The United States remains opposed to any forced displacement of Palestinians amid the threat of a major military offensive by Israel in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, Antony Blinken said Thursday in a telephone call with his Egyptian counterpart . The US Secretary of State reaffirmed the “clear position of the president Joe Biden that the United States does not support a major military operation in Rafah and the United States’ rejection of any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza“, said its spokesperson, Matthew Miller, reporting on the call with Egyptian Minister Sameh Choukri.

The Israeli army bombarded the Gaza Strip on Thursday, as the United States threatened to stop arms deliveries to Israel in the event of a major offensive in the crowded town of Rafah, on the Egyptian border. Mr. Blinken “also expressed US support for reopening the Rafah crossing and continuing the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian aid», added Mr. Miller.