Ahead of Israel’s impending ground offensive in Rafah, negotiations for a ceasefire are stalling. A UN representative fears massacre. The news at a glance.
In the Gaza war, efforts to reach a new ceasefire and release the hostages have suffered a setback. According to media reports, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to send a delegation back to Cairo, where negotiations by international mediators were scheduled to continue today, because of what he described as the “delusional demands” of the Islamist Hamas.
Relatives of the hostages held by Hamas reacted “stunned” and spoke of a “death sentence”. Meanwhile, criticism of Israel’s planned military offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza continues. Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said during another visit to Israel that an offensive in Rafah would be “a humanitarian catastrophe.” UN emergency aid coordinator Martin Griffiths chose unusually sharp words on the platform X (formerly Twitter) that night: “I fear a massacre of people in Gaza.”
USA talks to Israel about protection plan for Rafah
The US government says it is conducting “intensive discussions” with the Israeli leadership about a protection concept for the civilian population in Rafah. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: “We have made clear both publicly and personally that we cannot support a military operation in Rafah until Israel has developed a humanitarian plan that can be implemented and is being implemented.”
There are “intensive discussions that we are currently having in detail with the Israeli government,” said security advisor Jake Sullivan. However, they do not want to take part in speculation about what the protection concept will look like in the end, but rather wait and then exchange ideas with the Israeli government, said Miller.
Last week, Netanyahu ordered the military to submit to the government plans for an offensive in Rafah and for the evacuation of the population there. The aim is to destroy the last Hamas fighting units there, said Netanyahu.
The announcement caused strong international criticism. “The Israeli government can no longer ignore these calls,” said a statement from UN emergency coordinator Griffiths. The head of the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA sees no possibility of evacuating people from Rafah. “Evacuation to where? There is no safe place in Gaza,” Philippe Lazzarini told the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung”.
Baerbock calls for a ceasefire
During her visit to Israel, Foreign Minister Baerbock previously called for another ceasefire in the war. This would open up a window of opportunity “to free the hostages and get more humanitarian aid in,” said Baerbock. After talks in Jerusalem, the minister called on the warring parties to accept a proposal from Qatar and Egypt for a ceasefire and the release of more hostages.
However, Israel’s head of government is demanding that Hamas give in before further negotiations. “I insist that Hamas abandon its delusional demands. If it does so, we will be able to move forward,” Netanyahu said.
Senior officials from the United States, Israel, Qatar and Egypt had not reached an agreement the day before in Cairo, but agreed to extend talks at lower official levels by three days, the New York Times reported, citing an Egyptian official. The Israeli delegation, led by the head of the Mossad secret service, David Barnea, left Cairo in the evening.
“No new proposal from Hamas for the release of our hostages was submitted in Cairo,” Netanyahu said. According to Israeli media, he argues that a return to the talks in Cairo makes no sense as long as Hamas demands the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners in return for the hostages.
Hamas sends delegation to Cairo
However, Hamas circles said that it was Israel that was not moving forward with the negotiations. A Hamas delegation is now in Cairo. Israeli officials have made it clear that the army will soon launch the planned offensive on Rafah in the southern coastal strip unless Hamas returns to the negotiating table with a proposal that Israel considers more sensible, the Wall Street Journal newspaper quoted one person as saying , who was familiar with Israel’s position.
The people in Rafah needed “safe places and safe corridors so as not to get further caught in the crossfire,” said Baerbock. The people of Rafah “cannot simply disappear into thin air,” she said during her fifth visit to Israel since Hamas’ terrorist attack in Israel on October 7. More border crossings need to be opened so that more aid and medicine can be imported, said Baerbock. The UN employees would also have to be able to rely on security guarantees in order to be able to continue distributing aid.
What is important today
Foreign Minister Baerbock is continuing her visit to Israel. The Green politician will, among other things, meet with Israel’s President Izchak Herzog in the morning. A meeting with Benny Gantz, minister in the Israeli war cabinet, is also planned. The talks are also likely to focus on Israel’s planned military offensive in Rafah and the humanitarian situation of the civilian population. Baerbock also wants to meet relatives of the hostages still held in Gaza. In the evening she travels back to Berlin.