Hopes for a truce dwindle in Gaza as Israeli attacks intensify
Palestinians are following closely what is happening in the Egyptian capital regarding the ongoing negotiations to reach a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. There had been a great sense of optimism in the last couple of days. But that has dwindled following media reports about the same sticking points between Hamas and Israel.
Meanwhile, Israel has launched several attacks in the past 24 hours, and the casualties continue to rise among civilians as residential buildings and farm lands are targeted in multiple areas in the territory.
‘If there was a ceasefire, I’d go home,’ Gaza’s war-weary IDPs say
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/5/5/if-there-was-a-ceasefire-id-go-home-gazas-war-weary-idps-say
The word is a weary wish in Gaza, as much a source of searing disappointment as the last emblem of hope.
That word is “ceasefire”, an end to the Israeli assault that has pummelled the Gaza Strip for seven months – killing at least 34,683 people and injuring at least 78,018 more in a drawn-out Israeli retaliation for a Hamas-led attack on its territory on October 7.
And the prospect for one keeps Gaza resident Abeer al-Namrouti glued to her phone day and night. She often falls asleep to news bulletins still playing near her head.
“I’m going to keep listening until I hear the word ‘ceasefire’,” she told Al Jazeera.
Abeer al-Namrouti listens to the news all day and night
Netanyahu’s insistence on Rafah offensive stalls truce talks: Report
The New York Times reports that an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity and Mousa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, both blamed the Israeli prime minister for stalling the current truce talks.
The Israeli source is reported as telling the newspaper that the two parties were close to an agreement a couple of days ago, but Netanyahu’s comments about a planned Rafah offensive had forced Hamas to “harden” its demands.
Abu Marzouk told the newspaper, “We were very close, but Netanyahu’s narrow-mindedness aborted an agreement.”
A tent camp housing Palestinians displaced by the Israeli offensive is seen in Rafah
Proof comes out Netanyahu has been backing Hamas
Netanyahu asked Qatar to fund Hamas in 2018 letter: Report
The Israeli prime minister in 2018 asked the Qatari government to continue transferring $30m to the Gaza Strip monthly, the Israeli Ynet news site has reported, citing “a secret letter” sent to the Gulf state’s leadership.
The publication said the letter has only been seen by a handful of people since being sent by Benjamin Netanyahu.
In the letter, the prime minister said funding Hamas would preserve regional stability and avert a humanitarian crisis, according to Ynet.
After Qatari officials demanded further assurances, the US government agreed to a request from Netanyahu and sent an additional letter to Doha that, in effect, ensured Qatar that funding Hamas would not be considered funding terror, the report said, adding that the letters from Netanyahu and then-US Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin ultimately “satisfied the Qataris”.
Essay Pro