New negotiations begin in search of a truce between Hamas and Israel. Will it work this time?

A week later Hamas sent his proposal for a ceasefire, which was rejected by the Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu, considering her “delusional” for her demands, representatives from both sides, in addition to the United States, Egypt and Qatar, meet in Cairo for a new round of talks in search of a truce in the Gaza Strip.

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According to Gaza authorities, after four months of war, at least 28,000 people have died in the Palestinian enclave. From Israel, where they suspect the veracity of this number because they assert that the Hamas government tends to inflate its reports, the victims are estimated at at least 1,300 since October 7, the day the Hebrew country suffered a series of attacks by the group terrorist who triggered the current war.

Since that date, fighting has only been suspended for a week, in November, when both sides agreed to exchange hostages for prisoners.

On Tuesday, February 6, Hamas presented a proposal for a lasting ceasefire in exchange for conditions that the United States described as “excessive”and which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called “delusional”The next day, when he announced that they were rejecting the proposal.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his country rejected the ceasefire proposal presented by Hamas. (MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/)

Since then, Israel has not only continued its offensive in the north of the Gaza Strip, but on Tuesday morning it bombed the south of the enclave, leaving at least 67 people dead and managing to free two hostages in an operation carried out by an elite squad. . .

The Hebrew army also announced that it is preparing a major offensive against the city of Rafah. The UN and several governments have asked Israel not to attack this area located south of the enclave, on the border with Egypt, due to the large number of civilians taking refuge there after fleeing fighting in the north.

An investigation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz revealed that 1.7 million Palestinians who fled Israeli bombings in Gaza have nowhere to return due to the devastation of the enclave.

However, amid the advance of the war, the Egyptian television network Al Qahera News reported this Tuesday, the 13th, that representatives of the American and Israeli intelligence services, as well as a Palestinian delegation, were meeting with Egyptian and Qatari authorities in El Cairo to discuss a possible truce.

The two hostages rescued by Israeli forces in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, the Argentine-Israelis Fernando Simón Marman and Luis Har. (EFE).

The Hebrew delegation is led by the head of Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service, David Barnea; who is accompanied by the director of Shin Bet (Internal Intelligence), Ronan Bar; and Lt. Gen. Nitzan Alon of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), according to The Jerusalem Post.

CIA Director William J. Burns also attended the meetings; the director of Egyptian Intelligence, Abbas Kamel; and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani detailed the Hebrew newspaper.

The Palestinian side, in turn, is made up of representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

CIA Director William Burns, Mossad Chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani participated in the talks in Cairo. (STEFANI REYNOLDS GIL COHEN-MAGEN FABRICE COFFRINI/)

As detailed to the EFE agency by a senior Egyptian security source, the Israeli and Palestinian delegations arrived in Cairo amidst strict security precautions.

According to the Israeli press, the main objective of the negotiations is to negotiate an agreement in which the release of a greater number of hostages held by Hamas prevails.

After a meeting with the king of Jordan. Abdullah, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, guaranteed this Monday, 12th, that his country “is working on a deal to release hostages that could bring an immediate and lasting period of calm in Gaza for at least six weeks, during which time we can build something more lasting”.

However, far from what one might think, the United States would not have the last word in this discussion, but this responsibility would fall mainly on Qatar.

The small Gulf country is one of the few that has supported Hamas since 2007, the year in which it broke ties with Fatah and took control of the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, since 2012, Hamas’ top leaders have been based in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

Finally, its role as a financier of the Palestinian group is fundamental. It is estimated that, in the last 10 years, the emirate has sent between one billion and 2.6 billion dollars to Hamas. These funds are intended to support the functioning of the government apparatus in Gaza and are monitored by the United States and Israel; However, several analysts consider that at least part of them are used to finance the armed wing of the Palestinian group.

Source: Elcomercio