(Doha) Diplomatic efforts are intensifying to secure a truce in Gaza and avoid a full-scale war in the Middle East, with a resumption of negotiations expected in Qatar on Friday and discussions between French and British ministers in Israel.
On the ground, the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas continues unabated in the besieged Gaza Strip and violence continues in the occupied West Bank, where a deadly attack by Jewish settlers has caused an outcry, including in Israel.
After more than ten months of conflict, triggered by the unprecedented attack by the Islamist movement Hamas against Israel on October 7, diplomacy is being activated to avoid a regional conflagration following Iran’s threats to attack Israel in response to the assassination, attributed to Israel, of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 in Tehran.
US President Joe Biden, whose country is Israel’s main ally, has said a ceasefire in Gaza could prevent an attack by Iran or its allies – Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
PHOTO RABIH DAHER, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A fire swept through the Marjayoun plain in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, after it was hit by Israeli shelling on August 16.
The latter have vowed to avenge the death of Ismail Haniyeh, which occurred the day after an Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah military leader Fouad Chokr near Beirut.
Receiving his counterparts, British David Lammy and French Stéphane Séjourné, in Jerusalem, the head of diplomacy Israel Katz said that in the event of an attack by Tehran, his country expects its allies “to join Israel, not only to defend it but also to attack important targets in Iran.”
Hezbollah tunnels?
In Lebanon, Hezbollah released a video showing fighters moving through large, lit tunnels dug into the rock and crisscrossed by trucks, as well as a hatch opening and a large missile launcher aimed skyward. AFP could not verify the authenticity of the footage.
PHOTO HEZBOLLAH PRESS OFFICE PROVIDED BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
This image, taken from a video released by Hezbollah’s press office on August 16, 2024, shows what the footage describes as some of the group’s military capabilities.
The Doha talks began Thursday with CIA Director William Burns and Israeli intelligence chiefs, as well as Qatari and Egyptian mediators, in attendance. Hamas did not participate.
The United States called it a “promising start” although “much remains to be done.” Qatar announced their continuation on Friday.
The talks are based on a plan announced on May 31 by Joe Biden, which provides in a first phase a six-week truce accompanied by an Israeli withdrawal from densely populated areas of Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages taken to Gaza on October 7, in exchange for that of Palestinian prisoners.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said he wants to continue the war until the destruction of Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007 and is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union.
Hamas is demanding, in order to join the discussions in Doha, a timetable for the implementation of the plan announced by Mr. Biden.
“That’s enough!”
Faced with the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, two major UN agencies, WHO and UNICEF, have called for “seven-day humanitarian pauses” to allow the vaccination of more than 640,000 children under 10 against polio.
On October 7, Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza into southern Israel launched an attack that killed 1,198 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data. Of the 251 people kidnapped that day, 111 are still being held in Gaza, including 39 declared dead by the army.
The Israeli retaliatory offensive in Gaza has left at least 40,005 dead, according to Hamas’ health ministry, which does not provide details on the number of civilians and fighters killed.
On Friday, witnesses reported Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army said it had “eliminated terrorists.”
PHOTO EYAD BABA, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A child looks out of a car window as Palestinians flee Deir el-Balah, August 16.
Despite the announcement of new Israeli evacuation orders in the Khan Younis region (south), some Palestinians have decided to stay.
“How many times do they want to move us? We have nowhere else to go. We prefer to die here, that’s enough!” says Maher al-Tabach, 35, a displaced person.
“Burn, kill”
Violence has also flared up in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.
On Thursday evening, dozens of Israeli settlers set fire to buildings and vehicles and threw Molotov cocktails in the northern village of Jit, according to the army. One of them was arrested.
The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority said one Palestinian was shot dead in the attack, denouncing “state terrorism.”
“They were armed with knives, a machine gun and a silencer. Their goal was clear: to burn, kill and destroy,” Hassan Arman told AFP in Jit.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog “condemned a pogrom” and Mr Netanyahu’s office said “those responsible for any criminal act will be arrested and prosecuted”.
The UN, which considers Israeli colonization in the West Bank illegal, denounced a “horrible” attack, with the United States, France and Germany denouncing an “unacceptable” action.
Mr Lammy has denounced the attack as “abject” and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is set to propose sanctions against Israeli officials.