Biden remains the key to ending this genocidal war
Netanyahu working to diffuse pressure to continue war
Ceasefire talks are expected to resume in Egypt’s capital but both sides are unlikely to make more concessions, according to Mahjoob Zweiri, director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University.
“Hamas believe they have done a lot of flexibility and the people killed in Gaza and the casualties should not just be forgotten,” Zweiri told Al Jazeera, explaining why the Palestinian group will unlikely cede to more Israeli demands.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, is relying on his ally US President Joe Biden to continue to turn a blind eye to Israel’s bloody war, despite the international outcry after an Israeli strike killed seven aid workers last week in Gaza, he said.
“Netanyahu, as a prime minister, he has the ability to go around the promises he’s made for more aid and will try to diffuse the pressure on himself,” Zweiri said.
“The Israelis tried to put more pressure on Biden to change the tone against Netanyahu.”
Renewed push for Gaza ceasefire and captive-prisoner deal in Cairo
CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani have joined Egyptian mediators for indirect truce talks in Cairo.
Hamas reiterated its core demands are a complete ceasefire in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Stop-start talks have made no headway since a weeklong truce in November saw some Israeli captives exchanged for Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel.
Washington blames the lack of a deal on Hamas’s refusal to release sick and other vulnerable captives. Qatar says Israeli objections to the return of displaced Palestinians in Gaza are the main obstacle.
Gaza death toll hits 33,175 after 6 months of Israeli attacks
Gaza’s Health Ministry says 33,175 Palestinians have been killed and 75,886 wounded since Israel launched its war on the coastal territory in October. The toll includes at least 38 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said.
More than 14,000 children and about 9,220 women have been killed in six months of war.
“We have arrived at a terrible milestone,” the UN’s humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement marking six months, while noting “the immediate prospect of a shameful man-made famine”.
Griffiths called the prospect of further Israeli escalation in Gaza “unconscionable”.
A man holds the body of his baby killed in Israeli attacks in Rafah
The avg number of daily deaths has been going down since the killing of the aid workers. There are also undocumented deaths of course, but maybe the bombing campaign is slowing down. However deaths from starvation will soon take over if no drastic intervention occurs. Famine is expected to set in in May.
Getting rid of Netanyahu could also change things for the better
Israeli opposition leader in US to meet senior Biden officials
Yair Lapid is expected to meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and other officials later on Sunday in Washington, DC.
During his visit, Lapid will also talk to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who last month called for a snap election in Israel to give voters a chance to get rid of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom he described as one of the “major obstacles” to peace.
Speaking to Channel 12 news on Saturday, Lapid blamed Netanyahu for what he called a “collapse” in relations with Washington and said it was questionable if the ties could even be fully repaired by future governments.
