Soon a truce between Israel and Hamas? An emissary of the American President Joe Biden, Amos Hochstein, declared Wednesday, August 14 in Beirut (Lebanon) that there was “no more time to waste” to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. During his stay in the Lebanese capital, he met with the Speaker of Parliament to discuss the negotiations for a truce between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas, which are due to resume on Wednesday in Qatar. “We must take advantage of this window to act and find diplomatic solutions.”he said. Follow our live stream.
A provocation that “doesn’t help.” Washington has sharply criticized Israeli Interior Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s prayer at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem, accompanied by 3,000 Jewish worshipers, on Tuesday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday to prevent future prayers. “acts of provocation”Under a status quo decreed after Israel’s conquest of East Jerusalem in 1967, non-Muslims can visit the Esplanade of the Mosques, which houses the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque, at specified times, without praying there.
Tehran rejects Western calls to abandon threats against Israel. International pressure is also increasing to reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where the war, triggered on October 7 by a Hamas attack on Israel, has left nearly 40,000 dead according to the Palestinian Islamist movement. The White House estimated Monday that a possible Iranian attack could have “an impact on discussions” which are due to resume on Thursday in preparation for a truce in Gaza.
Washington approves arms sale to Israel. The United States has approved the sale of more than $20 billion (about 18 billion euros) in arms to its Israeli ally, including F-15 fighter jets and nearly 33,000 rounds of tank ammunition. The State Department said in a notification to the US Congress that the sale would “improve Israel’s ability to confront current and future enemy threats”.