Benjamin Netanyahu warns: his army will enter Rafah, a town in the Gaza Strip located on the border with Egypt, whether a truce is concluded or not. “The idea that we are going to stop the war before we have achieved all of our objectives is out of the question. We are going to enter Rafah and eliminate the Hamas battalions there, with or without an agreement, in order to achieve total victory.”, declared the Israeli Prime Minister, Tuesday April 30, from Jerusalem. ThisThe warning comes as many capitals and humanitarian organizations fear massive civilian losses in the event of an offensive on this city which has become a refuge for a million and a half Palestinians. Follow our live stream.
Antony Blinken expected in Israel at the end of the day. After visits to Saudi Arabia and Jordan, the head of American diplomacy is due to arrive in Israel this evening. His seventh mission to the Middle East should finally make it possible to achieve a truce between the Jewish state and Hamas.
What does the initial proposal for this new ceasefire contain? It includes a “40-day ceasefire” as well as “release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release [des] hostages”specified the head of British diplomacy, David Cameron.
Hamas is preparing its response. After a meeting Monday in Cairo with representatives of Egypt and Qatar, mediator countries with the United States, a Hamas delegation left the Egyptian capital for Doha to study a new truce offer, reported AFP a source close to the Islamist movement. An answer will be given “as quickly as possible”according to this same source.
Israel will wait for a response from Hamas until “Wednesday evening.” According to an Israeli official who spoke to AFP, Israel “will make a decision when Hamas has given its response.” After Monday’s false leap, US President Joe Biden asks the leaders of Qatar and Egypt to “do everything possible” to obtain from Hamas the release of the hostages as part of negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The temporary US jetty for delivering aid to Gaza is almost ready. The US military is to finish construction of its temporary infrastructure on the Gaza coast on Thursday to allow more humanitarian aid to be delivered to the besieged Palestinian territory, the president of Cyprus announced on Tuesday. Joe Biden announced at the beginning of March the establishment of an artificial port to be able to transport aid by sea.