Israel and Hamas at War, Day 307 | Israel Agrees to Resume Truce Talks

Israel agreed on Thursday to resume talks on August 15 for a truce in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages by Hamas, after intervention by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, which warned the two belligerents that there was “no more time to lose and no excuses” for further delays.

This timid progress comes as fighting continues in the Gaza Strip, with at least 18 dead Thursday in Israeli strikes on two schools according to the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, and against a backdrop of fears of a generalized military escalation in the Middle East.

“Following the proposal of the United States and the mediators, Israel will send a delegation of negotiators to the location to be agreed on August 15 to conclude the details of concretizing an agreement,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced in a statement Thursday evening.

Earlier, Washington, Cairo and Doha had invited the opposing parties to resume their discussions on August 15, indicating that a framework agreement was “now on the table, and that only the details of its implementation were missing.”

“Final Proposal”

“As mediators we are ready, if necessary, to present a final proposal that could resolve the implementation issues. [d’un accord] in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties,” the text adds.

Qatar has been engaged for months in behind-the-scenes negotiations, with the support of Cairo and Washington, to try to reach a truce and an agreement on the release of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas and held in the Gaza Strip.

The leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Thursday reiterated his threats to retaliate against an Israeli attack on the port of Hodeidah, controlled by his group, saying it was “inevitable.”

The prospect of a cessation of hostilities is structured around a phased agreement, starting with a ceasefire.

The latest proposal for a framework agreement “is based on the principles” previously outlined by Mr. Biden, the statement said.

“The time has come to conclude a ceasefire and an agreement for the release of hostages and prisoners,” the text continues, according to which “there is no more time to lose and no excuses for any party to justify further delay.”

“It’s not like the deal is going to be ready to sign on Thursday. There’s still a lot of work to do,” a senior Biden administration official said of the talks that follow calls between Biden and the Egyptian and Qatari leaders this week.

Israel has been “very receptive” to the idea of ​​the talks, the senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, rejecting suggestions that Mr Netanyahu was dragging his feet.

The development comes after Hamas appointed Yahya Sinwar as its new leader, accused by Israeli authorities of being one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack by the Islamist movement on Israeli soil, raising fears that the already difficult negotiations could become even more difficult. Israel has vowed to “eliminate” Sinwar, who has not appeared in public since October 7.

For ten months, all attempts at mediation have failed and the war, which according to Hamas has left nearly 40,000 dead in the small besieged Palestinian territory, has exacerbated tensions in the Middle East, between Iran and the armed groups it supports on the one hand, and Israel on the other.

“Strategic error”

Diplomatic efforts are continuing in all directions to avoid a flare-up in the entire region, after Iran promised retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 in the Iranian capital, which Tehran blamed on Israel.

The day before, Fouad Chokr, the military leader of Lebanese Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, had been killed in an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Israel made a “strategic mistake” that will “cost it dearly” by killing Mr Haniyeh, Iran’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri, said in an interview with AFP in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Mr Bagheri accused Israel, which has not commented on Haniyeh’s death, of wanting to “spread tension, war and conflict to other countries”.

The U.S. military said F-22 stealth fighter jets arrived in the Middle East on Thursday, after announcing last week a boost to its military presence in the region.

Lebanon, overflown several times these days by Israeli military planes at low altitude, remains on alert. Exchanges of fire along the border between the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah have become almost daily since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

Israel will fight Hezbollah “with all its might” if it continues its aggression, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant assured Thursday.

In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army is continuing its offensive against Hamas, which has been in power in the Palestinian territory since 2007 and is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States, the European Union and Israel.

New evacuations

In Gaza City, Israeli strikes on two schools “killed more than 18 citizens” on Thursday, according to Civil Defense spokesman Mohammad al-Moughayyir, who added that 60 other people were injured and more than 40 were missing.

The Israeli army said for its part that these schools were “used by terrorists and Hamas commanders, from where they planned and carried out attacks.”

On Thursday, the army once again called on the population to evacuate several areas of Khan Younis, the large city in the south of the territory destroyed by several months of fighting.

The call concerns neighborhoods from where “rockets were fired,” according to the army.

The Civil Defense said five bodies were found in a bombed house in Khan Younis.

The attack carried out on October 7 by Hamas commandos in southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.

Of the 251 people abducted, 111 are still being held in Gaza, 39 of whom are dead, according to the army.

The offensive has plunged the Gaza Strip into a humanitarian disaster and displaced almost all of its 2.4 million inhabitants.