Talks between the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar on a possible truce in Gaza have ended inconclusively as calls grow for Israel to curb its planned attack on the southern end of the enclave , where more than a million Palestinians are now displaced.
In Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke with CIA Director William Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in a bid to reach a truce, protect civilians and provide more aid to the enclave, Egypt’s state information service said. Tuesday.
In a statement posted on its website, it cited a “desire to continue consultation and coordination” on key issues, indicating that no progress had been made. Israeli representatives were also present at the talks.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israeli forces are planning a ground attack on the southernmost town of Rafah, which covers 64 square kilometers (25 square miles).
Rafah, whose pre-war population was around 300,000, today has around 1.4 million residents, many of whom live in tent camps and makeshift shelters after Israel declared the city “safe zone” as it bombed areas of northern and central Gaza for four months.
No plan to safely evacuate civilians has been presented and aid agencies say the displaced have nowhere to go in the devastated besieged territory.
“Where are you going to evacuate people, because no place is safe in the Gaza Strip, the north is destroyed, riddled with unexploded weapons, it is practically unlivable,” Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. , said.
Rafah threatened
Israeli tanks shelled parts of Rafah for the second night in a row, sparking a wave of panic, residents said.
Dozens of people were killed in nighttime attacks on Monday. On Tuesday, two journalists, including an Arab correspondent for Tel Aviv Tribune, were targeted. A photojournalist working with him was also injured in an Israeli air raid in northern Rafah.
Faced with threats of an Israeli ground attack, hundreds of displaced families began to leave Rafah.
“I fled al-Maghazi, I came to Rafah, and here I am back in al-Maghazi,” said Nahla Jarwan, referring to the coastal refugee camp she fled earlier in the conflict.
Rafah neighbors Egypt, but Cairo has made clear it will not allow the exodus of refugees across the border.
Health officials in Gaza announced 133 new Palestinian deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 28,473 killed and 68,146 injured since October 7, when around 1,200 people were killed in an attack on Gaza. Hamas across the border with Israel, triggering the offensive.
Inconclusive talks
As truce talks took place in Egypt on Tuesday, a Hamas official told Tel Aviv Tribune that no delegation from the group was present. “We are still awaiting the results of the ongoing meetings in Cairo and communications continue with the mediators,” Hamas said.
A Palestinian official told the Reuters news agency that the sides were seeking “a formula that would be acceptable to Hamas, which says it is only possible to sign a deal when it is based on Israeli commitment.” to end its war and withdraw its forces.” of the Gaza Strip.
The official said Hamas told participants it did not trust Israel not to resume war after the release of Israeli prisoners in Gaza.
The captives were taken during the Hamas raid in southern Israel on October 7. Ensuring their return is a priority, according to the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the annihilation of Hamas, which governs the enclave subject to a crippling blockade for 17 years. .
“It is still a little too early to say exactly how close we are to an agreement, but we know that the Israeli delegation includes the head of Israel’s Mossad, the external security agency, and the Shin Bet, the internal security and intelligence agency. Tel Aviv Tribune correspondent Hamdah Salhut reported from occupied East Jerusalem.
Also on Tuesday, South Africa said it had asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to examine whether Israel’s plan to expand its Rafah offensive required additional emergency measures to safeguard the rights of Palestinians.
In a case brought by South Africa, the ICJ last month ordered Israel to take all measures in its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The government in Pretoria has expressed fear that an offensive in Rafah could lead to more deaths, damage and large-scale destruction.
US President Joe Biden said on Monday that Washington was working on a hostage deal to bring “immediate and lasting” calm to Gaza for at least six weeks. Biden urged Israel to refrain from launching an offensive on Rafah without a viable plan to protect civilians.
