FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Will it be the mid-August truce? Being optimistic is an unforgivable sin considering the way things are going in the Middle East, but on Thursday a fateful summit will take place in Cairo, from which mediators expect the parties, Israel and Hamas, to find some form of agreement .
Hamas said in the evening that it might not attend.
Better to "implement" the three-phase plan for the cease-fire proposed by the Americans in early July, "instead of conducting further negotiations or making new proposals."
The hope is certainly not fueled by the attitude of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who does not seem to entertain the idea of a ceasefire. Egyptian and Qatari mediators have told Israeli officials that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar wants a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza, but "no one knows what Bibi wants," an Israeli source told CNN. .
Now, what does Bibi want?
At the moment he seems caught between the opposition to his government and the hawks of his executive like the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, who in a message not to give in to the pressure of the United States for negotiations.
"Hamas must be crushed until its complete surrender." Ben-Gvir is the leader of the radical right-wing Otzma Yehudi (Jewish Power) party, which holds 6 of the 64 seats that make up the government's majority and appears to be threatening to bring down the government if Netanyahu disguises himself as a dove. Without those 6 seats, the government would fall short of the majority, sitting at 61 out of 120.
"Will Netanyahu rise to the occasion and lead to the release of the hostages or will he prefer to save his cloak?" asked an anonymous Israeli source.
One who has clear ideas is Defense Minister Yoav Gallant: "Israel will act in unprecedented ways if it is attacked in an unprecedented way by Iran and Hezbollah," he told the recruits.
And speaking of recruits, in Israel there is talk of friction between the army and Netanyahu, which the prime minister himself denied yesterday, confirming in a way.
The general staff would be frustrated because there is no clear political objective in the ongoing war in Gaza. He denies it: "I have heard that the media claims that the war has no purpose and that the political level prevents the IDF from advancing: this is not true. The goal is victory. The Israel Defense Forces are systematically destroying Hamas with the aim of destroying its military and governmental capabilities, as well as freeing its hostages."
Jerusalem yesterday approved the proposal to once again block the broadcasts of Hezbollah-linked Lebanese al Mayadeen TV and its websites and seize all its assets, as it had already done on May 5 with Al Jazeera.
On the military front, the IDF attacked several residential buildings in the Hamad neighborhood north of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, and asked residents to leave their homes because the area will no longer be considered part of the "humanitarian zone."
Yesterday, the condemnations of the Friday-Saturday night attack against the school in Gaza City, which caused about a hundred deaths according to Hamas and 19 according to the IDF: "Israel has the right to prosecute Hamas terrorists, but it has the responsibility to to avoid harming civilians," said Democratic White House candidate Kamala Harris.
Lini një Përgjigje