Palestinians walk at dusk along a destroyed street in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip.
Photo: EFE – HAITHAM IMAD
The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, stated that it is still possible to reach a truce and an agreement to release hostages to end the war between Hamas and Israel, however, Hamas called for some changes and Israel indicated that it was going to call a “security assessment” in light of the events in the north (Hezbollah launched projectiles towards Israel) and the negative response of Hamas on the issue of the release of the hostages.
On the other hand, Israeli forces maintain their operations in the Strip, where a witness stated that “aerial and artillery bombardments” were taking place in Rafah. There was also artillery fire in the nearby town of Khan Younis, according to witnesses, and, in the north, the Civil Defense reported at least four dead in the bombing of a house in Gaza City, where a hospital had previously reported seven dead. .
The plan for a truce, announced by Biden and supported by the UN Security Council and Arab powers, contemplates in a first phase a six-week ceasefire, the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the populated areas of Gaza and the entry of humanitarian aid.
Among the amendments proposed by Hamas is the demand for “a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal” of Israeli troops from Gaza, Osama Hamdan, a senior official of the Islamist movement, told AFP. Requirements that Israel rejects.
The American Secretary of State said that among the demands of the Palestinian Islamist movement, “some changes are achievable, others are not.”
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan indicated that “several” Hamas demands are “minor and not unexpected,” while “others differ more substantially from what was outlined in the UN Security Council resolution.”
On Israel’s side, although the United States presented the proposal as an Israeli initiative, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government has far-right members who strongly oppose the agreement, said he has not yet formally endorsed it.
Furthermore, “in light of the events in the north and the negative response from Hamas on the issue of the release of the hostages,” Netanyahu’s office indicated that it was convening a “security assessment.”
The Israeli military announced that some 150 rockets were fired from Lebanon toward northern Israel on the morning of June 12, after an Israeli bombing killed a Hezbollah commander the day before in southern Lebanon. Some were shot down and others hit Israel, causing fires, said the same source, which did not report any casualties.
Hezbollah also claimed responsibility for more than 10 other attacks against the Israeli army, one of them using drones.
For Blinken, “the best way” to resolve the usual clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army is to “resolve the conflict in Gaza and reach a ceasefire.”
The war broke out on October 7 when Islamist militants killed 1,194 people and kidnapped 251 in southern Israel, according to a tally based on official Israeli data. The Israeli army estimates that 116 hostages remain captive in Gaza, although 41 of them are believed to be dead.
The operation launched by Israel against Gaza has left 37,202 dead, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, governed by Hamas.
Blinken is on a Middle East tour in Qatar, one of the mediators in the conflict along with the United States and Egypt currently examining Hamas’ response to the plan for a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.
Civilians ask for an agreement
The Hostage Families Forum urged Israel to send negotiators as soon as possible, warning that “any delay may jeopardize the possibility of reaching an agreement.”
On the other hand, some Gazans called on Hamas to do more to secure an agreement.
“Hamas doesn’t see that we are tired, dead, destroyed,” a man in Gaza, who gave his name as Abu Shaker, told AFP.
“What are you waiting for?” he added. “The war must end no matter what the cost.”
According to witnesses and medical personnel, Israeli forces maintain their operations in the Strip. Shelling was reported in Rafah, artillery fire in Khan Younis and at least 10 dead in Gaza City.
