Fears of a ceasefire in the Gaza war – The night at a glance
Published: Tuesday, Feb 27th 2024, 05:00
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While the international mediators in the Gaza war continue their efforts to achieve a ceasefire and the release of hostages, the USA and Israel are sending different signals on the status of the difficult negotiations. US President Joe Biden expressed optimism on Monday evening (local time) that a ceasefire could be reached as early as next week. The Israeli television stations Channel 12 and Kan, on the other hand, quoted Israeli officials as saying that a negotiating framework proposed by the mediators Egypt, Qatar and the USA was still not compatible with Hamas' demands. Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of blocking the talks. Whether the mediators will be able to negotiate a deal by the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan around March 10 therefore remains uncertain for the time being.
Biden hopes for ceasefire by Monday
However, Biden exuded confidence: "My national security advisor tells me that we are close," he said over ice cream in New York in response to a question from the press. We are not there yet. "I hope that we will have a ceasefire by next Monday," said the US President. However, Hamas has not yet submitted an official response to the negotiating framework recently proposed by Egypt, Qatar and the USA in Paris, reported the Times of Israel. The framework, which Israel would accept according to earlier media reports, initially envisages a ceasefire lasting around six weeks. During this time, 40 hostages held by Hamas would be exchanged for several hundred Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The Arab television station Al Jazeera put the number of Palestinian prisoners that Israel is allegedly prepared to release at 400.
Reports of continued wide rift between Israel and Hamas
A crucial sticking point appears to be Israel's insistence that a temporary ceasefire will not guarantee an end to the war, wrote the Times of Israel on Monday evening. But that is exactly what Hamas is demanding. "There is no progress at the moment," the Israeli news portal "Ynet" quoted a government representative as saying. "There is a big gap between the sides and the mediators are trying to bridge it. We are continuing to work to achieve results." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sticking to the war goal of destroying Hamas.
To this end, the military is preparing an offensive on the city of Rafah, which borders Egypt in the south of the sealed-off Gaza Strip. The hundreds of thousands of civilians seeking protection there are to be brought to safety further north. The military presented plans to this effect to the war cabinet on Monday. Details are not yet known. Israel's plans in Rafah have met with clear international criticism, including from allies.
The Gaza war was triggered by a massacre carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups in Israel on October 7. More than 1200 people were killed on the Israeli side. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, the number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has since risen to almost 30,000. The high number of civilian casualties among them has been strongly criticized internationally.
UN Relief and Works Agency: Humanitarian supplies for Gaza halved in February
According to UN figures, the amount of aid delivered to the suffering population was halved in February compared to the previous month. "Aid should have been increased, not decreased, given the enormous needs of two million Palestinians in terrible living conditions," said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), on Monday on the X platform (formerly Twitter). On average, only 98 trucks carrying aid supplies have entered the sealed-off coastal strip per day this month, the UN added. Israel controls the border crossings into the sealed-off Gaza Strip together with Egypt.
Israel submits report to the World Court
Meanwhile, Israel has submitted the report requested by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on measures to prevent genocide in the coastal area to the seat of the UN court. This was reported by the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" on Monday evening, citing political circles. The country thus met a deadline set by the court. The newspaper did not provide any information about the content of the report. South Africa had accused Israel of alleged violations of the Genocide Convention during the Gaza War. In an interim ruling, the UN court had ordered Israel to take protective measures to prevent genocide. It must also allow more humanitarian aid for the suffering population in the Gaza Strip. The court will decide on the accusation of genocide in longer proceedings.
Reports about the use of Israeli SIM cards before Hamas massacre cause a stir
Israel firmly denies the accusations of genocide. It invokes its right to self-defense after the unprecedented terrorist attack by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7. A big question to this day is how Israel's secret service, military and political leadership could have been so surprised. In this context, media reports on Monday about the activation of Israeli SIM mobile phone cards by the terrorists shortly before their attack caused a stir. According to the Times of Israel, the Israeli military felt compelled to clarify that the secret service did have indications that "some" Israeli SIM cards had been activated in Gaza. But these had also been used before without anything happening. Reports that 1000 cards had been activated simultaneously shortly before the attack were false.
Israel kills Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon
Meanwhile, the dangerous tensions in Israel's border region with Lebanon continue. According to the Israeli military, a senior officer of the Shiite Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon was killed in an airstrike on Monday. Brigade commander Hussein Salami was specifically killed because he had commanded rocket attacks on the northern Israeli town of Kiriat Shmona and a local Israeli military command, it said. Hezbollah confirmed Salami's death but gave no details of his rank. Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, Israel's conflict with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has intensified. Israel has already warned several times that it is prepared to launch a major military operation if diplomatic efforts come to nothing.
What will be important on Tuesday
While negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the exchange of hostages for prisoners continue, aid organizations in Geneva report on the humanitarian situation in the sealed-off coastal region
©Keystone/SDA
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