Biden pushes for a ‘sustained period of calm’ between Israel and Hamas
President Joe Biden said the U.S. is working on a deal between Israel and Hamas to free hostages and pause fighting in Gaza for six weeks.
Negotiations continued Wednesday in Cairo, Egypt, for the second day as multiple countries attempted to forge a diplomatic agreement for a pause in the fighting in Gaza and the release of hostages.
The meetings were extended from Tuesday, when leaders from the U.S., Israel, Egypt and Qatar did not reach a breakthrough but agreed to continue “consultation and coordination,” according to Reuters.
Among the main issues preventing a deal is Israel’s pledge to crush Hamas and remain in charge of security in Gaza after the war and Hamas’ demands of a permanent cease-fire and the withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the war-torn territory.
The negotiations are happening ahead of an expected Israeli military offensive in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, where 1.4 million people have crowded in search of safety from the war. Israel says the operation is necessary to dismantle Hamas’ last stronghold, while humanitarian organizations, including the U.N., warn an invasion of the city would be disastrous.
President Joe Biden on Sunday cautioned Israel not to invade Rafah unless there’s a plan that ensures the safety of civilians packed in the city, which had a prewar population of 280,000.
In the days since, Israel has launched deadly airstrikes on Rafah in operations it has said are part of hostage rescue missions, which brought two captives to safety on Sunday. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed in airstrikes targeting Rafah since the weekend. Civilians in the densely populated city have already begun to flee.
Developments:
∎ The Israeli military is carrying out a series of airstrikes in Lebanon after a rocket attack from the country injured at least at least eight people in northern Israel, reported the Times of Israel. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group operating in Lebanon, has not taken responsibility for the attack.
∎ More than 28,500 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, when Hamas launched attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, triggering the war.
An Israeli evacuation proposal for Rafah includes 15 campsites of about 25,000 tents built across southwestern Gaza and field hospitals controlled by Egypt, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Egyptian officials.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC Israel will provide safe corridors for civilians to flee Rafah and go to areas cleared by the military.
But humanitarian aid groups said there’s no place for people sheltering in Rafah to go and that most other parts of the territory have been destroyed by Israel’s military operations, including Gaza City and Khan Younis. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees has said little aid has trickled into northern Gaza in recent weeks and that hundreds of thousands are suffering from severe hunger as a result.
Meanwhile, Egyptian officials and a Western diplomat said if waves of Palestinians trying to flee Israel’s invasion of Rafah enter Egypt, the country would suspend the Camp David Accords peace treaty of the late 1970s, the Associated Press reported.
Contributing: Associated Press, John Bacon, Jorge L. Ortiz
David Turner is a globe-trotting journalist who brings a global perspective to our readers. With a commitment to shedding light on international events, he explores complex geopolitical issues, offering a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
