Egypt sends delegation to Israel to discuss Gaza ceasefire – Telquel.ma

LThe war that has been raging since October 7 in the Palestinian territory has been followed by an outbreak of violence on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where the Israeli military announced the death of a civilian on Friday. Israel, meanwhile, is preparing for a ground offensive against Hamas in the crowded town of Rafah, which borders Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip.

Many capitals and humanitarian organizations fear bloodshed in this city that has become a refuge for almost one and a half million Palestinians, many of whom are crammed into tent camps, without water and electricity, where they begin to suffer from the heat and cold of winter.

After six and a half months of bombing and ground fighting, Israel estimates that the Islamist movement has four battalions grouped in Rafah. The Israeli War Cabinet met on Thursday “discuss ways to destroy the last Hamas battalions“, said government spokesman David Mencer.

A delegation from Egypt, one of three countries mediating with Qatar and the United States, is expected in Israel on Friday to discuss the issues “security“, says a source close to the government. But according to Israeli media, the delegation must try to restart negotiations and push for a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas that includes the release of “tens” hostages.

Towards the release of the hostages?

According to the Israeli website Walla, citing a senior Israeli official, the talks are about a proposal to initially release 20 hostages who are considered cases “humanitarian“.

According to the Al-Araby channel, it is also about supporting Egypt’s efforts to prevent the offensive on Rafah.

A Hamas politician, Ghazi Hamad, assured AFP from Qatar on Thursday that the attack on Rafah would not allow Israel to gain “What does he want“It is so”eliminate Hamas or recover“hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Rafah offensive is necessary to defeat Hamas and free the hostages, the two main stated goals of the ongoing offensive.

Since the start of the war, violence has increased on the Israeli-Lebanese border, where exchanges of fire have become daily between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, a powerful armed movement allied to Hamas and backed by Iran.

Tens of thousands of residents have fled communities on both sides of the border. The military announced Friday that an Israeli civilian was killed overnight near the border by missiles fired from southern Lebanon, where it destroyed Hezbollah infrastructure.

Armed conflicts on Chebaa farms

“During the night, terrorists fired anti-tank missiles at the Har Dov area in northern Israel. An Israeli civilian working at the infrastructure site was injured and later pronounced dead“, the army announced. Har Dov is the Israeli name for Shebaa Farms, a disputed border area. Hezbollah, for its part, claims to have carried out “complex ambush” against an Israeli convoy in “Chebaa farms occupied“and have”destroyed two vehicles“.

The military said it struck “targets belonging to Hezbollah in the Chebaa area of ​​southern Lebanon, including an arsenal and a launcher” missiles, as well as “operational infrastructure” and “military complex“.

The war in Gaza was launched on October 7 by an unprecedented attack by Hamas commandos against Israel, which resulted in the death of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to AFP based on official data. More than 250 people were abducted and 129 remain trapped in Gaza, 34 of whom have died according to Israeli officials.

In retaliation, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which has been in power in Gaza since 2007 and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. His army has launched an offensive that has so far killed 34,305, mostly civilians, according to a recent report by the Islamist movement’s Ministry of Health.

On Thursday, relatives of the hostages once again demonstrated in Tel Aviv to pressure the government to release them. Some had their hands tied and smeared with red paint, their mouths covered with plasters marked “202”, the number of days since October 7, or they carried signs reading “Hostage Agreement Now”.

The war that destroyed the Gaza Strip also caused a humanitarian disaster in the territory of 2.4 million inhabitants, which Israel besieged and threatened with starvation.

Faced with the difficulty of transporting international aid by road from Egypt, due to very strict controls imposed by Israel, the United States began building a temporary port and wharf facing the Gaza coast, where military or civilian ships could deposit their cargo. They will then be transported to the coast on smaller ships. The pier should be operational in early May, according to the Pentagon.