Gaza war: New talks in Saudi Arabia – The night at a glance
Published: Monday, Apr 29th 2024, 04:21
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At a meeting of several foreign ministers from Western and Arab states in Riyadh this Monday, efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of hostages held by Hamas are to be discussed. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is traveling to Saudi Arabia on his way back from a visit to China, wants to discuss the conflict with regional partners, according to his office. Among others, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates are expected to attend.
The ministers are meeting in Riyadh on the fringes of the Open Forum, an economic conference organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF), which focuses on topics including the environment, health and finance. According to WEF President Børge Brende, Israel was not supposed to attend.
A Hamas delegation is also expected to travel to Cairo on Monday to discuss details of a new proposal for a compromise with Israel in the Egyptian capital, a Hamas representative told the German Press Agency. However, hopes for an agreement in the indirect negotiations between international mediators - Israel's government and Hamas do not hold direct talks as a matter of principle - have been dashed time and again so far. The focus of the talks had recently been shifted from Qatar to Egypt.
Can the offensive in Rafah still be averted?
A high-ranking Hamas official announced on Telegram that the Islamist organization would examine an Israeli proposal and provide a response. According to Israeli television, the Israeli government expects this by Monday. Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated that Israel was prepared to postpone the military operation in the city of Rafah if a deal could be reached for the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The USA has repeatedly warned the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a large-scale offensive in Rafah. The city on the border with Egypt is overcrowded with hundreds of thousands of refugees. US President Biden reiterated his clear position in a conversation with Netanyahu, the White House announced on Sunday.
According to Israeli media, the current draft deal is initially a limited agreement that only provides for the release of female, elderly and sick hostages. Hamas has recently called for a permanent ceasefire, which Israel rejects. It is feared that many of the 133 hostages still believed to be in the Gaza Strip are no longer alive.
Israeli minister threatens to end the government
According to military sources, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has discussed and approved plans to continue the war in Gaza with the leading officers of the Southern Command. No further details were given. Halevi had previously approved further steps to continue the Gaza war. Israeli media also interpreted the decision as approval of the planned offensive in Rafah.
Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had previously threatened to break out of the coalition if a military operation in Rafah was stopped in favor of a hostage deal. This would be a "humiliating capitulation" and a "death sentence for the hostages and an immediate existential threat to the state of Israel", Smotrich said in a video message to Netanyahu.
Netanyahu is said to fear arrest warrants from the Criminal Court
According to media reports, the Israeli Prime Minister fears that the International Criminal Court in The Hague could issue arrest warrants for him and other Israeli leaders. The government assumes that Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan could issue international arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Defense Minister Joav Galant and Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi this week, Israeli media reported. There was no comment on this from The Hague.
The Criminal Court has been investigating Hamas and Israel for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip since 2021. Investigations are also underway into violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
Israel's Foreign Minister Katz on Sunday instructed all Israeli missions abroad to immediately prepare for a "severe anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli wave in the world" in connection with the reports of possible arrest warrants. Security measures around Jewish institutions should also be increased, a ministry spokesperson said in response to the instruction to the embassies.
Israeli army continues to attack targets in the Gaza Strip
The Israeli army carried out further airstrikes against Hamas in the Gaza Strip at the weekend. A vehicle carrying eight Hamas terrorists was hit in the central part of the coastal area, the army announced on Saturday. Terrorist infrastructure, observation posts and rocket launchers were also attacked.
The war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre of more than 1,200 people killed by terrorists from Hamas and other groups in Israel on October 7 last year. The Hamas-controlled health authority put the number of people killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war at 34,454 on Sunday. The figures it published make no distinction between civilians and gunmen and are almost impossible to verify independently.
Humanitarian aid
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari announced an expansion of aid deliveries to Gaza on Sunday evening. He said on Sunday evening that the opening of the Israeli port of Ashdod and a new crossing for humanitarian transports in the north of the Gaza Strip would contribute to this. Together with the US military, work was also being done on a temporary pier to allow aid shipments to be brought ashore. "It is a top priority to get aid to the people of Gaza, because our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza," Hagari said.
For months, critics have been accusing Israel of deliberately obstructing aid deliveries and thus accepting a worsening of the humanitarian emergency in the Gaza Strip. In his telephone conversation with Netanyahu, US President Biden emphasized that the latest progress in aid deliveries must be continued and intensified in full coordination with the humanitarian organizations, the White House announced on Sunday.
The aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK) plans to resume its work in Gaza on Monday. At the beginning of April, seven aid workers were killed in an airstrike when their convoy of three vehicles left a warehouse in Deir al-Balah in the center of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army later described the attack as a "serious mistake", saying that the vehicles had not been correctly identified.
©Keystone/SDA
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