FLASH
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It is not exactly a ceasefire order, but since yesterday morning, Israeli soldiers have been under directives to defend themselves, not to attack unless threatened. The latest attack was at dawn: the air force bombed mainly around Gaza City, which remains a besieged combat zone, where re-entry is currently prohibited and from which hostage rescue operations are likely to begin. Hamas reports 57 deaths, 40 of them in Gaza City alone.
Trump's peace plan is taking its first steps and, after urging Prime Minister Netanyahu (on Friday evening) to immediately suspend military operations, the US president said yesterday that "I appreciate Israel's temporary halt to allow for the release of hostages and the conclusion of the peace agreement". He also told Hamas: "It must act quickly, otherwise everything will be canceled. I will not tolerate delays, which many believe will occur, nor any outcome that could make Gaza a threat again".
He then wrote on the social media platform Truth: "After negotiations, Israel has accepted the initial withdrawal line, which we have shown and shared with Hamas. When Hamas confirms it, the ceasefire will come into effect immediately, the exchange of hostages and prisoners will begin, and we will create the conditions for the next phase of the withdrawal, which will bring us closer to the end of this 3,000-year-old catastrophe."
The tycoon's words thwarted the Islamist movement's aspirations for major changes to the plan, expressed in the first hours after the hostages were released. In practice: negotiations are possible, yes, but the gap is narrow and, as previously announced, new negotiations will be held in Egypt.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry confirmed that new negotiations will begin on Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, where delegations from Hamas and Israel will be hosted, and where the US envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and the US president's son-in-law and "unofficial adviser", Jared Kushner, are arriving. "All objectives will be achieved soon", Netanyahu said. "Hamas will be disarmed and the Strip will be demilitarized", was another passage in his speech. He also expressed his hope that "the kidnapped will return for the Sukkot holiday (October 6-12), thus confirming his intention to achieve the deadline as soon as possible". In a later interview with Channel 12, he ruled out any possibility of changing anything about the immediate release of the hostages: "Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff will arrive soon to finalize. They are not coming to play games. They are not willing to reopen any clauses regarding the release of the hostages," he interrupted.
But perhaps the most important part of his statements concerns the stability of his armed forces in Gaza, one of the main points that Hamas would like to change: "Our army," he announced, "will remain deep inside the territories it controls in the Strip." All this while the Secretary General of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, told the press that Trump's plan "serves the interests of Greater Israel and is in line with Israel's ambitions under American cover," and while the Hamas spokesman in Lebanon, Walid al-Kilani, spoke: "Our position is clear and firm," he declared. "As long as the occupation exists, resistance will exist."
The surrender of weapons (one of the points of the peace plan, ed.) is only possible when a full Palestinian state is created, with the right to make decisions and a national army capable of protecting the Palestinians. In finding a compromise to end the war, the weight of the terrorist group's military wing in Gaza will make the difference. The fighters in the Strip are divided in their support for the agreement, which is however more clearly supported by the political wing of the movement, based in Doha, Qatar. PA President Mahmoud Abbas spoke from Ramallah, saying he "welcomes" the news of the last two days regarding the hostages and the new negotiations./Corriere della Sera
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