The United States asks Hamas to accept a truce in Gaza and Israel not to invade Rafah

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Wednesday Hamas accept the new truce proposal in Gaza strip and reaffirmed its opposition to an Israeli invasion of Rafah, in the war-torn south of the Palestinian territory.

Blinken said in Tel Aviv that the United States is determined to achieve “a ceasefire that brings the hostages home, and to achieve it now,” referring to the dozens of abducted people who have remained in the hands of Hamas since the beginning. of war on October 7th.

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The truce proposal, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, is “extraordinarily generous on Israel’s part”, considered the diplomat, on his seventh visit to Israel since the start of the conflict.

If the Islamic movement, in power in Link“If you truly care about the Palestinian people and want to see immediate relief from their suffering, you should accept this deal,” he added.

The proposal includes a 40-day truce and an exchange of hostages held in Gaza for Palestinians held in Israel.

Hamas will give its response “in a very short period of time”, Suhail al Hindi, an important leader of the Palestinian movement, told AFP, stressing that the ceasefire must be permanent.

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A senior Israeli official indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government will wait until Wednesday night for Hamas’ response and then decide whether to send a delegation to Egypt with a view to a possible agreement.

“Other ways” to confront Hamas

Blinken also reiterated US opposition to an Israeli ground operation in Rafawhere 1.5 million Palestinians survive in extreme conditions, most of them displaced by the conflict in other areas of the Gaza Strip.

“There are other ways – and, in our opinion, better ways – to face the real current challenge of Hamas, which do not require a military operation” in Rafah, Blinken said after meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

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Hours before Blinken arrived in Israel, Netanyahu reaffirmed his intention to invade Rafah, before or after a truce, considering that this city constitutes Hamas’ last stronghold.

“We will enter Rafah and eliminate the battalions of Hamaswith or without agreement [de tregua]to achieve total victory”, he declared.

The conflict broke out on October 7, when Islamic commandos killed 1,170 people, most of them civilians, and kidnapped around 250 in southern Israel, according to an AFP report based on Israeli data.

A week-long truce in November allowed the exchange of 100 hostages for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Israel estimates that 129 people remained in captivity, of whom 34 would have died.

The air and ground offensive launched by Israel in retaliation against Hamas has so far left 34,568 people dead, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

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At least 33 people died in the last 24 hours in Palestinian territory, according to the same source.

Early in the morning, the Israeli army bombarded the north and center of Linkincluding the Nuseirat refugee camp, where several witnesses reported clashes between Palestinian fighters and Israeli soldiers.

Colombia breaks relations with Israel

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that from Thursday his country would break diplomatic relations with Israel and described Netanyahu as “genocidal”.

“If Palestine dies, humanity dies,” said the left-wing president amid shouts of support in a central square in Bogotá.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz quickly responded, stating that Petro “had promised to reward Hamas murderers and rapists and today he delivered.”

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Humanitarian help

In addition to the bombings, Palestinians in Gaza suffer from food shortages, as foreign aid, strictly controlled by Israel, arrives little by little, mainly from Egypt.

Blinken visited Kerem Shalom, one of the border crossings between Gaza and Israeland declared that “progress is real, but given the immense needs in Gaza, it must be accelerated.”

According to the Israeli military, 30 trucks carrying food and medicine from Jordan entered the Erez border crossing on Wednesday, which Israel recently opened and provides access to northern Gaza.

What is more, U.S is building a floating dock off the coast of Gaza to receive shipments, which is expected to begin operating on Thursday.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.