Israel gave Hamas a “last chance” to agree on a hostage deal. Otherwise the attack on Rafah will begin. However, Hamas is signaling its rejection. The news at a glance.
According to media reports, the Islamist Hamas is opposed to an offer to negotiate a hostage deal in the Gaza war, but wants to continue the talks. “Our position on the current negotiating paper is negative,” Lebanon-based Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan said on Lebanese television, the Times of Israel newspaper reported.
However, the Hamas press office subsequently clarified Hamdan’s statements and stated that the Hamas leadership would not accept Israel’s current proposals unchanged, but was prepared to continue negotiating, the New York Times wrote. The negative attitude does not mean that the negotiations have been stopped. Rather, there is “a back and forth”. There could be an answer in the coming hours, according to the Times of Israel.
Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip is skeptical about the offer
As part of mediation efforts in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Hamas was presented with a proposal for a ceasefire in return for the release of hostages. However, according to the leader of the Islamist organization in the Gaza Strip, Jihia al-Sinwar, the proposal contains a number of pitfalls. There is no guarantee that the war will end, a source close to the Hamas leader told the Israeli television channel Channel 12.
It is not an offer from the Egyptian mediators, but rather an Israeli one “in American garb.” Statements by Hamas leaders in exile should not be viewed as official positions of Hamas, Al-Sinwar’s confidant told the Israeli TV station.
Israel threatens to launch a ground offensive in Rafah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu privately told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel would begin a ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, if Hamas continued to make a hostage agreement conditional on an end to the war, the Axios news portal reported. citing two Israeli and American officials. Blinken had spoken of a “very, very generous” proposal from Israel for a deal. Hamas has so far insisted on an end to the war, which Israel rejects.
The Israeli government has announced a rapid start to the controversial offensive in Rafah on the border with Egypt if an agreement is not reached. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have sought protection in the city. Blinken said in Tel Aviv: “We are committed to reaching a ceasefire that brings the hostages home, now.
And the only reason why this couldn’t be achieved is because of Hamas.” There is a proposal on the table. “And as we said, no delays, no excuses.” According to Channel 12, the Hamas leader is hesitant in Gaza, Al-Sinwar, however, according to his confidant, he claims to make all decisions regarding the Gaza war alone.
Al-Sinwar is considered one of the architects of the massacre
Israel suspects that Al-Sinwar is in the Hamas tunnel network under the Gaza Strip and has surrounded himself with hostages for his own protection. The underground system represents an enormous challenge for Israel’s army in the Gaza war, which has been going on for around seven months.
Israel considers Al-Sinwar to be one of the architects of the October 7 massacre in the Israeli border area. It was the trigger for the war. Israel now wants to destroy the last remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah. “The idea that we stop the war before all its goals have been achieved is out of the question,” said Prime Minister Netanyahu. He is under strong pressure from his right-wing extremist coalition partners, who recently threatened to end the government if the now proposed hostage deal was implemented and the planned operation in Rafah was called off. Netanyahu’s political survival depends on them.
Colombia breaks off relations with Israel over Gaza war
Meanwhile, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro announced a break in diplomatic relations with Israel. Israel has a “genocidal” government, Petro said at a Labor Day rally in Bogotá. “If Palestine dies, humanity dies, and we will not let them die,” said the left-wing politician in front of thousands of people in Colombia’s capital. The severance of relations applies from today.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called Petro “anti-Semitic and hateful” in a statement. He decided to “side with humanity’s most despicable monsters who burned babies, murdered children, raped women and kidnapped innocent civilians,” Katz wrote on the X platform, formerly Twitter, in Hebrew and Spanish. The President will not change the fact that relations between the two countries have always been warm. Petro had sharply criticized Israel several times in recent months and threatened to break off relations.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
