Israeli officials have warned that the country’s military will escalate its operations in Gaza if negotiations on a ceasefire and captive exchange deal do not advance soon, according to the US-based Axios news outlet.
Israel on Monday ordered civilians in additional areas of Gaza City to evacuate south, signalling preparations for a potential expansion of the army’s ground offensive.
“We’ll do to Gaza City and the central camps what we did to Rafah. Everything will turn to dust,” the outlet quoted a senior Israeli official as saying.
“It’s not our preferred option, but if there’s no movement toward a hostage deal, we won’t have any other choice.”
The report comes as Trump said Israel had agreed to the “necessary conditions” to finalise a 60-day truce and urged Hamas to accept the deal.
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US President Donald Trump announced that Israel has agreed to the terms of a 60-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, he said in a post published Tuesday on the social media platform Truth Social.
ReplyDelete"My representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day ceasefire, during which time we will work with all parties to end the war," the American leader stated.
The US proposal said Israeli forces would pull back from Gaza based on maps to be agreed upon, and that negotiations would also begin on a permanent ceasefire, the release of the remaining captives and Israeli “redeployment and withdrawals”.
ReplyDeleteHamas issued a counterproposal, asking for the negotiations on a permanent ceasefire to begin on day one of the truce, and for the Trump administration to guarantee the talks to reach a final settlement to the war.
Hamas has said it is willing to free remaining hostages in Gaza under any deal to end the war, while Israel says it can only end if Hamas is disarmed and dismantled.
ReplyDeleteHamas refuses to lay down its arms.
Around 50 Israeli hostages are still in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
ReplyDeleteThe Israeli military this week also said it was examining reports of civilians being "harmed" while approaching aid distribution centres in Gaza run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
ReplyDeleteMore than 170 charities and other NGOs have called for the controversial group to be shut down. Organisations like Oxfam and Save the Children say Israeli forces "routinely" open fire on Palestinians seeking aid.