“The chances of a ceasefire in Gaza in the near future are very, very slim,” Israeli television Channel 12 reported, citing Israeli officials. “The negotiations are blocked by Israel's demands to maintain a military presence in Gaza,” Reuters reported on Thursday.
Washington has been pressuring both Hamas and Israel to adopt a compromise ceasefire agreement. Another high-level meeting on the matter is to be held in Cairo in the coming days. However, both sides of the war that has been going on for over 10 months are skeptical about the possibility of reaching an agreement.
“The main sticking point remains the Philadelphia corridor, the strip along Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, and the Netzarim corridor, the road that bisects the territory and divides it into northern and southern parts,” Reuters reported on Thursday, based on talks with sources including Western diplomats and Hamas officials.
Israel wants to maintain control over these routes, citing security concerns. Both Hamas and Egypt They oppose it. Hamas demands a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops and emphasizes that the demand to maintain control over these areas is a new condition for Israel, added after both sides initially agreed on the general framework of the agreement.
Gaza StripPAP/EPA/MOHAMMED SABRE
The content of the presentation on Friday by USA The agreement was not made public. According to Washington, the proposal is to be a compromise that satisfies both sides. As reported by the Times of Israel, the document “does not allow for a permanent presence of Israel in the Philadelphia corridor, but it does not completely rule out such a solution either.”
US calls on both sides for 'maximum flexibility'
American Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on both sides to show “maximum flexibility,” while rejecting the possibility of Israel occupying any part of the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel “will not leave the Philadelphia corridor and the Netzarim corridor under any circumstances.”
On Wednesday evening, the US President Joe Biden spoke with Netanyahu about a truce. “According to Axios, Biden was reportedly pressing the Israeli prime minister to soften his conditions regarding control of the corridors. Netanyahu, however, has not changed his position,” the Times of Israel wrote on Thursday, citing a source in the prime minister's office.
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani is scheduled to visit Iran on Monday, Reuters reported on Thursday. Rhinitis together with the US and Egypt, they mediate in the negotiations regarding Gaza.
Gaza Strip. Israel-Hamas conflictPAP/EPA/HAITHAM IMAD
Iran vowed to retaliate for the assassination attempt on Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which Israel attributed to him. That threat, along with similar statements by the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah, has led to the latest rise in tensions in the Middle East. According to some sources, Tehran will withdraw its plans to attack Israel if a ceasefire is reached in the Gaza Strip.
Since Israel's retaliatory attack on the Gaza Strip, some 40,000 people have been killed there.
Main image source: PAP/EPA/HAITHAM IMAD