Israel Blinken in the Middle East: time is running out for a ceasefire
Accompanied by growing skepticism, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is continuing his intensive efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
21.08.2024, 04:31
SDA
After talks in Israel, he traveled to Egypt and Qatar, which are mediating indirect talks with the USA on an agreement between Israel and the radical Islamic Hamas. According to a media report, however, an agreement is in danger of failing without an immediate alternative. Meanwhile, the dangerous conflict on Israel's northern border continues to escalate. Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel's air force once again attacked targets in the other country.
Blinken: Doing everything to get Hamas on board
On his arrival in Doha, Blinken told journalists: "We have to get the ceasefire and hostage release agreement across the finish line." Time is of the essence because the lives of the Hamas hostages are in greater danger with each passing day. In addition, the people in Gaza were suffering every day, said the US Secretary of State. All mediators were committed to preventing further escalation in the region. Qatar and Egypt were in direct contact with Hamas in order to reach an agreement. "Over the next few days, we will do everything possible to get Hamas on board with the bridging proposal," he said. After that, the two sides would have to agree on further details.
Blinken had said in Israel on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted the latest US-backed proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza at a "very constructive meeting". It was a "bridging proposal" based on a plan presented by US President Joe Biden in May. It is now up to Hamas to agree to the proposal.
Hamas: USA tolerates Netanyahu's new demands
However, Hamas accused the USA of having bowed to Israel's conditions with the latest bridging proposal. Washington was thus tolerating new demands from Netanyahu. Hamas will not negotiate any new conditions, its spokesman Osama Hamdan told the German Press Agency. It should only be about the implementation of the plan presented by Biden in May. Blinken, on the other hand, explained that the "bridging plan" only contains "clarifications and details" with regard to the original plan.
Biden's three-phase plan initially provides for a ceasefire of six weeks. During this period, a certain group of hostages would be released. In return, Palestinians imprisoned in Israel would be released. In the next phase, the fighting would then cease permanently and the remaining hostages would be released. According to the draft, the final phase would see the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip begin
Media: Netanyahu still not prepared to withdraw from strategic locations
At a meeting with relatives of hostages, Netanyahu said, according to media reports, that it was not certain that there would be a deal with Hamas. The head of government also stated that he was still not prepared to withdraw from the strategically important buffer zone between the Gaza Strip and Egypt and the Nezarim Corridor, which divides the Gaza Strip into a northern and a southern section. However, Hamas insists on a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip as a condition for a ceasefire. Critics accuse Netanyahu of blocking an agreement because he fears the failure of his governing coalition if he makes concessions to Hamas. After his visit to Israel, Blinken met with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. According to the State Information Service (SIS), al-Sisi said that a ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of a broader recognition of a Palestinian state in order to guarantee stability in the region.
However, a report by the US news portal "Politico", which cites two US and two Israeli officials, believes the agreement is on the verge of collapse without a clear, direct alternative.
In the event of such a failure of the mediation efforts, there are fears of a major escalation in the region. Following the killing of two high-ranking enemies of Israel in Tehran and Beirut almost three weeks ago, Iran and the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah threatened massive retaliatory strikes.
Israeli army recovers bodies of six hostages
The Israeli army said it had recovered the bodies of six hostages in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night. The mortal remains of six men aged between 35 and 80 were found in a tunnel in Chan Junis in the south of the coastal strip. Relatives of the hostages severely reproached the government for not rescuing their loved ones alive.
According to an Israeli count, Hamas still holds 109 hostages. 36 of them have been declared dead and 73 are still alive, according to an Israeli government spokeswoman.
"The days are passing and we are losing more and more hostages. We have to make a deal. We must. Now," wrote Israel's opposition leader Jair Lapid on Platform X.
Attacks and fighting continue in the Gaza Strip
According to Palestinian media reports, ten people were killed in an Israeli attack on a school building in the city of Gaza. According to Palestinian reports, the target of the bombing was a school building in which displaced persons are said to have been housed. Israel's army announced that Hamas had hidden a command center on the site. This was the target of the attack.
According to Israeli military sources, dozens of Palestinian militants were also killed in fierce fighting in the south of the Gaza Strip. In the area of the city of Rafah, "around 40 terrorists were eliminated in close combat and strikes by the Israeli air force", according to an army statement. The Hamas military wing announced that its fighters had shelled an Israeli tank and soldiers in a building in the area.
The Gaza war was triggered by the terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremists from the Gaza Strip on southern Israel on October 7. Around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 others were deported to the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, 40,173 people have been killed in the sealed-off coastal area since then.
New rocket salvos on Israel from Lebanon
According to Israeli military reports, dozens of rockets were again fired at northern Israel from Lebanon. Hezbollah, which is allied with Iran, announced that it had fired an "intensive volley of rockets" at Israeli military positions. It was a response to Israeli attacks on Monday in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, in which at least eight people were injured. According to the army, it had attacked Hezbollah weapons depots.
According to Lebanese reports, the Israeli air force attacked the Bekaa Plain again during the night. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least one person was killed and sixteen others were injured. According to Lebanese reports, four people had previously been killed and two others injured in an Israeli attack in the south of Lebanon. Three Hezbollah fighters were among the dead, according to Lebanese security sources.
There are concerns that the situation could escalate further and lead to a major war. Israel's Defense Minister Joav Galant said that the "center of gravity" was gradually shifting from the Gaza Strip to the northern border.
