War in Gaza: peace talks at deadlock, “emergency meeting” in Qatar

They must try to break the deadlock. International mediators are meeting in Qatar this Monday for an “emergency meeting”, while truce talks held this weekend in Cairo between a Hamas delegation and Egypt’s intelligence minister failed. They have even brought differences between the Palestinian Islamist movement and Israel to the forefront.

After a stop in Egypt, US intelligence chief William Burns is expected this Monday in Qatar, the main mediating country, a source close to the talks said. “In the absence of progress” during discussions in Cairo, he is to hold an “emergency meeting with the Prime Minister” of the emirate, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al Thani, “to discuss ways to move the negotiations on the right track.” According to this source.

“If Israel must remain alone, Israel will remain alone”

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that Israel cannot “accept” the demands of the Islamist movement, which calls for a permanent ceasefire in the Palestinian territory as a precondition for any agreement, especially on the release of the hostages kidnapped on October 7. in Israel. He even warned “leaders around the world that no pressure, no decision by an international body will prevent Israel from defending itself.” “If Israel must remain alone, Israel will remain alone,” insisted the Israeli Prime Minister.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, earlier accused Benjamin Netanyahu of “sabotaging the efforts of mediators” to reach a truce who met this weekend in Cairo in Israel’s absence. A proposal from mediator countries Qatar, Egypt and the United States, presented to Hamas in late April, calls for a truce involving the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. But a Hamas spokesman said on Sunday that the movement would “under no circumstances accept an agreement that does not explicitly provide for an end to the war.”

The Hamas delegation in Cairo, which left for Doha on Sunday evening for consultations, is expected to return to Egypt on Tuesday “to complete negotiations,” according to Al-Qahera News, a media outlet close to Egyptian intelligence.

The fighting continues

This Monday, the Israeli army requested the evacuation of the eastern neighborhoods of the city of Rafah, which it had already struck during the night, killing 16 people from two families, according to rescuers. A hospital source confirmed the results of two Israeli strikes on Sunday evening “on the Yebna refugee camp in Rafah and in the vicinity of Al-Salam.” Despite international warnings, Benjamin Netanyahu is still threatening to launch an offensive on the overcrowded city of Rafah, located on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip, “with or without a ceasefire agreement.”

This border town with Egypt became the last refuge for hundreds of thousands of civilians who fled the war further north. According to the World Health Organization, 1.2 million Palestinians, or half the territory’s population, are still concentrated there. Many capitals, including Washington, and aid organizations fear heavy civilian casualties if an attack on the city, a major land crossing for humanitarian aid, occurs.

The Israeli army told AFP that three of its soldiers were killed and 12 others were wounded on Sunday by rockets fired by Hamas’ armed wing around Kerem Shalom, the main crossing point for humanitarian aid from Israel into the Gaza Strip. Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades claimed responsibility for the fire, prompting Israel to close the checkpoint used to deliver humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army also reported Monday morning on Channel X that it had intercepted “an enemy drone flying towards Israel.” The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a nebula of fighters from Iran-backed armed groups, earlier announced on Telegram that it had struck the port of Eilat, on the southern tip of Israeli territory, which was the target of ballistic missiles intercepted by Yemen’s Houthis in February. rebels.