The United States is “examining” Hamas’ response to a ceasefire plan in the Gaza Strip promoted this week in the Middle East by its head of diplomacy Antony Blinken against a backdrop of incessant Israeli strikes in the Palestinian territory .
And this response, the content of which has not been announced, gives rise to different interpretations, with Israeli media and the American site Axios affirming that the Palestinian movement had rejected the plan.
This prompted a Hamas leader, Izzat al-Rishq, to issue a brief statement affirming that the response was both “responsible, serious and positive” and that it “opened the way to an agreement”.
“Israeli media allegations regarding Hamas’ response demonstrate attempts to shield Israel from the obligations of the agreement,” he wrote in Arabic, suggesting that these press indications allowed Israel to continue its strikes.
On a tour of the Middle East, American Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had “reaffirmed his commitment” to the plan announced by the American president at the end of May and adopted Monday by the Security Council of the UN.
PHOTO ALAA AL SUKHNI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
This plan provides, in a first phase, a six-week ceasefire accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas of Gaza, the release of certain hostages and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
“Encouraging sign”
Mr. Blinken also described as an “encouraging sign” the reaction of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, which said it welcomed “favorably” a certain number of elements of the American resolution, before giving its official response Tuesday evening.
In a joint statement with Islamic Jihad, the second Palestinian armed Islamist movement, Hamas gave its response to mediators from Qatar and Egypt by calling for a “total stop to aggression” in Gaza.
The response contains “amendments” to the proposal announced by Joe Biden, “including a timetable for a permanent ceasefire and the total withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip,” said a source familiar with the discussions.
A White House spokesperson, John Kirby, indicated that the United States was “reviewing” this response. “I am not going to provide any context or details on the response that has just come in and which our team is currently evaluating, as are our friends in Qatar and Egypt,” he added.
“The horror must stop,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who participated Tuesday in Jordan in an international conference aimed at mobilizing funds for humanitarian aid in the besieged territory, deprived of water and electricity, where the UN is worried about the risk of famine.
“It is high time to establish a ceasefire and release the hostages unconditionally,” he added, calling on “all parties to seize the opportunity” provided by the new American road map .
“Completed an operation”
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes continued to target different areas of the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, following deadly bombings Tuesday in the center of the territory where the Israeli army said it had “completed an operation” in eastern Deir al- Balah and east of al-Boureij.
In the occupied West Bank, the local Health Ministry and the Palestinian Red Crescent announced that six Palestinians were killed Tuesday in an Israeli army raid in a village near the town of Jenin, a stronghold of the factions. Palestinians. Hamas also said it “mourned” the “martyrs” of Jenin.
PHOTO BASHAR TALEB, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Palestinian children gather inside a tent at a camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, June 11, 2024.
In Lebanon, a major military commander of Hezbollah, Taleb Sami Abdallah, was killed Tuesday evening in an Israeli strike in the south of the country, announced the Lebanese Shiite movement allied with Hamas.
According to a Lebanese military source, the airstrike caused the death of three people in addition to the commander, who is “the most important Hezbollah to be killed” since “the start of the war”, with exchanges of fire being almost daily. on the Israel-Lebanon border since October 7.
Psychological impact
The war in the Gaza Strip was sparked that day by an unprecedented Hamas attack in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally. based on official Israeli data. Some 251 people have been kidnapped and 116 are still being held in Gaza, of whom 41 have died, according to the Israeli army.
In response, Israel, which has vowed to annihilate Hamas, the movement in power in Gaza since 2007 which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union, launched an offensive on Gaza. which left at least 37,164 dead, mostly civilians, according to data from the Health Ministry of the local Hamas-led government.
In Jordan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at least 1.7 million people of the Gaza Strip’s approximately 2.4 million residents have been repeatedly displaced by the Israeli military operations in eight months of war.
He also deplored the psychological impact of the war, especially on children, and said that around 60% of residential buildings and at least 80% of commercial facilities were damaged by Israeli bombing.
Violence against children during conflicts has reached “extreme levels” in 2023, particularly in Gaza and Sudan, according to a UN report consulted by AFP on Tuesday, which includes the Israeli and Sudanese armies on its “list shame.”