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Israel: Takes part in talks in Cairo – War continues to rage in the Gaza Strip

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Ισραorλ: Συμμε τεσοσο–ο λοσνει ναται Λωρδα της Γζας /></p> <p><strong>The head of the Israeli government remains adamant about keeping Israeli troops in Gaza</strong></p> <p>Israeli envoys took part in talks in Cairo on Thursday night as hopes of a Gaza ceasefire deal leading to the release of hostages dwindled and the war in the Palestinian enclave, now in its 322nd day, continues to rage. .</p> <p>The talks were held a week after those in Doha between the mediators (Qatar, Egypt, USA) and the heads of Mossad (espionage) and Shin Bet (counterintelligence), respectively David Barnea and Ronen Barr. Messrs. Barnea and Barr are in Cairo, where they are “negotiating to make progress on a deal for the hostages,” Omer Dostri, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said last night. He did not specify who else is involved in the talks. According to Israeli media, a US delegation is present.</p> <p>The hostages were kidnapped and taken to Gaza during Hamas's unprecedented Oct. 7 raid on southern Israel, triggering a war in the devastated and besieged small Palestinian pouch.</p> <p>The new negotiations come after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's ninth trip to the Middle East, which, however, did not bring any tangible results, and Mr. Netanyahu's telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden, during which the occupant of the White House “underlined the urgency of finalizing an agreement for a ceasefire and the release of hostages”.</p> <p>At the talks in Doha, US diplomacy announced that it had submitted a new compromise proposal to declare a ceasefire, the content of which is not known so far. Mr. Blinken assured that Mr. Netanyahu accepted the proposal and demanded that Hamas do the same. However, the Israeli authorities to date have not publicly confirmed that they approved the American proposal, while Hamas rejects it, accusing Washington of having incorporated new “Israeli conditions” into it, mainly for the “Philadelphia corridor”.</p> <p>The dimensions of views concern mainly this corridor, a narrow strip of land on the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt, which Israeli forces have controlled since May. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu remains adamant about keeping Israeli troops in the zone.</p> <p>“The prime minister insists at the outset that Israel must control the Philadelphia corridor to prevent the rearmament of Hamas that would allow it to repeat the atrocities of October 7,” Mr Netanyahu's office said yesterday. Departing yesterday Wednesday from the Middle East, Mr. Blinken underlined that Washington opposes “long-term occupation of the Gaza Strip by Israel”.</p> <p>Hamas claims to implement a proposal presented by US President Biden on May 31, and the movement assured that it accepts in early July. It called for a six-week ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from densely populated areas of the enclave, the release of Israeli hostages and in exchange for Palestinian prisoners; then, in a second phase, the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army from the besieged enclave.</p> <p>For the US government, declaring a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip would help avert the risk of a Middle East conflagration following threats by Iran and its allies to retaliate for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya on July 31 in Tehran, attributed to Israel by the Islamic Republic.</p> <p>On October 7, an attack by Hamas' military wing in southern Israel left 1,199 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli data.</p> <p>Of the 251 people abducted that day, 105 are still being held hostage in the Palestinian enclave, however 34 have been declared dead by the Israeli armed forces. The Israeli army said yesterday that it found that the bodies it recovered days ago from an underground tunnel in Khan Younis bore bullet wounds and added that it was investigating the circumstances of their deaths.</p> <p>Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, which seized power in the Gaza Strip in 2007 and is designated a terrorist organization by the US and the EU. The Israeli armed forces have launched large-scale operations in retaliation in which they have lost lives at least 40,265 people, according to the Hamas Health Ministry, which did not specify how many were civilians and how many were fighters. However, according to the UN, the majority of the victims were women and children.</p> <p>In the Gaza Strip, where the approximately 2.4 million inhabitants are experiencing a humanitarian disaster, civil protection spoke of five dead in an Israeli bombardment that hit their house in Khan Yunis (south). Eyewitnesses also spoke of fighting between the Israeli military and Palestinian fighters in the north, as well as shelling in the central part of the enclave.</p> <p>After Israeli shelling, thick black smoke covered the Nuseirat refugee camp (center) , where many residents rushed to leave, moving through the debris. “We live in fear for our children, the shelling never stops,” Tahani Abu Sherbi, who refuses to be displaced for the umpteenth time, “despite the danger,” told AFP near Deir al-Bala.</p> <p><noindex></p> <div class=Source: 24h.com.cy

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