Hot weather in Middle East. A response is expected in the next few hours Hamas to the Egyptian draft agreement for the truce with Israel, but white smoke is unlikely to arrive. The senior leader of the Palestinian group Osama Hamdan has announced that the position of the militiamen is “negative” for the moment but the discussions continue. Another Hamas representative present at the negotiations, Zaher Jabareen, added that the “situation is sensitive”, suggesting that a final decision has not yet been taken. A position that does not leave much hope and which risks leading to escalation.
The negotiations for the truce are proving to be a flop. The Israeli war cabinet will meet at 6.30 pm (5.30 pm Italian time, ed.) to discuss the next steps in negotiations with Hamas to reach an agreement on the hostages. No mandatory deadline has been defined for Hamas' response, but according to well-reputed sources it should arrive in the evening, or tomorrow at the latest. With the guarantees of Egypt, Qatar and the USA, Israel would be ready to accept the draft agreement, built taking into account the fundamental requests of Tel Aviv. But there is great concern about possible developments, especially in the case of black smoke.
Egypt will now try to reduce the distance between Hamas and Israel according to the Saudi newspaper Asharq, but everything will depend on the response of Palestinian terrorists to the proposal delivered last week. But regardless of this, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu seems intent on moving on with the dossier Rafah. Urged by numerous internal pressures, he seems intent on proceeding towards the final showdown in the area: the tanks are ready and the attack plan has been put down in black and white. All that is missing is Netanyahu's green light, which is almost a given in the event of a negative response to the proposed truce agreement.
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With the US in the front row, the international community is pressing Israel to prevent the direct attack on Rafah. The fear is that of one humanitarian catastrophe, with thousands of innocent civilians involved. As highlighted by Repubblica, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is already in Israel, to implement Biden's pressure on humanitarian aid. In recent hours, Tel Aviv announced that it had hit “the mouth of a tunnel and a mortar launch position in the center of the Strip after numerous bullets had been fired at soldiers operating in the area”. In another operation, however, “a cell of operatives who were close to the military was eliminated”. Crosshairs aimed at the infrastructures of terrorist groups in the Strip, including tunnels, buildings and operations. But much will depend on Hamas's response: from the ceasefire to the widening of the conflict, all hypotheses remain open.
Franco Lodige, 2 May 2024
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The article Hamas-Israel, flop negotiations: what can happen in Gaza comes from Nicola Porro.