Commercial presentation Update: 05/06/2024 22:23
Issued by: 05/06/2024, 19:11
Gaza/Tel Aviv – The draft ceasefire agreement approved by the Palestinian movement Hamas does not meet Israel’s demands, but Israel will continue negotiations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, his war cabinet unanimously expressed support for the continuation of military operations in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. According to The Times of Israel (ToI) server, the army this evening “targeted” Hamas positions in Rafah, the Palestinian media also reports on airstrikes in areas that the Israeli army ordered to evacuate in the morning.
Israel will continue the operation in Rafah “to exert military pressure on Hamas in order to advance the release of hostages and other military targets,” ToI quoted the Israeli prime minister’s office as saying.
Army spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters that Israel’s air force struck more than 50 sites linked to Hamas and its affiliates today; according to Hagari, it is a preparation for ground operations.
Hamas announced today in the early evening of the SELČ that it accedes to the terms of the agreement presented by Egypt and probably Qatar as well. Although, according to unnamed diplomatic sources Reuters and ToI, the document was not significantly different from the one already approved by Israel at the end of April, Israeli officials, including the prime minister’s office, this evening showed no will to accede to the ceasefire agreement without further negotiations, on the contrary. According to Israeli officials, the proposal is a “softened” version of the previous ones and does not meet Israeli requirements.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said a delegation from the movement would soon travel to Cairo for further talks, as would an Israeli delegation.
News of possible progress in months-long ceasefire talks came just hours after Israel’s air force began dropping leaflets in Arabic calling on some 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate Rafah, where the Israeli government says the last Hamas forces are hiding. The army is therefore planning a ground operation there, but Tel Aviv has repeatedly discouraged its launch due to the expected effects on civilians, including the United States.
Fighting in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7 last year, has so far been interrupted only by a week-long cease-fire at the end of November.
Palestine Israel Egypt struggles diplomacy PHOTO
