US envoy tells UN Security Council Gaza ceasefire drawing closer
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield tells the Security Council that a ceasefire and captive release deal “now is in sight” as she urges the 15-member body to press Hamas to accept a bridging proposal.
“It’s a decisive moment for ceasefire talks and for the region, and so every member of this council should continue to send strong messages to other actors in the region to avoid actions that would move us away from finalising this deal,” she said.
Parents of captive urge DNC to push for a ceasefire in Gaza
The parents of an Israeli captive held by Hamas have called for a deal to return all the captives in Gaza during a speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in the US on Wednesday.
John and Rachel Goldberg, the parents of Hersh Goldberg, spoke of their son being taken by Hamas from the Nova Music Festival on October 7.
In her speech, Rachel Goldberg urged Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris and other US officials to finalise a ceasefire to stop the war and return the captives.
“This is a political agreement, but the need for our only son and all the dear hostages to return home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” she told the DNC in Chicago.
John Goldberg reiterated the call for a deal and said, “Hersch, if you can hear us, we love you, stay strong and keep you alive.”
Israeli delegation arrives in Cairo for ceasefire talks: Report
That’s according to the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. The US Secretary of State had confirmed that the talks would resume today, after a US “bridging proposal” was reportedly agreed to by Israel at talks in Doha last week.
Hamas has not directly participated in the talks and has urged the adoption of a previous ceasefire proposal announced by US President Joe Biden at the end of May. The Palestinian group has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not serious about an end to the war and the release of captives held in Gaza.
Cairo talks to focus on Egypt-Gaza border: Report
The talks between Egyptian, Israeli and US officials will focus on the border as Israel demands that it maintain a military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor – the name used for the stretch of land along the border, the US news website Axios reports.
Egypt has rejected any long-term Israeli presence there, seeing it as a security threat. Hamas has also demanded the Israelis withdraw from the area, which Israeli forces captured in late May. The Palestinian group has insisted that a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza – including the Philadelphi Corridor – be part of any ceasefire deal.
The issue is a major sticking point, and Axios reports that Biden urged Netanyahu to be “flexible” on the issue during the talks.
War will continue, even with a deal: Israeli official
An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that a ceasefire deal would not mean the end of the war in Gaza.
“So long as Hamas doesn’t agree to a deal, we will continue fighting,” the official was quoted as saying. “Even if they do, the war will continue. Of course, if there is a deal, there will be a lull in the fighting in the first stage. But we will continue fighting until we achieve all of our war aims.”
The insistence on the war continuing echoes the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has himself insisted that any ceasefire deal still allow the Israelis to continue to attack Gaza, despite the US insistence that a deal would lead to an end to the war.
Hamas has repeatedly stated that any deal to secure the release of captives held in Gaza lead to a lasting ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
Netanyahu denies agreeing to international force along Egypt-Gaza border
“Prime Minister Netanyahu insists on the principle that Israel will control the Philadelphi Corridor to prevent the rearmament of Hamas, which would allow them to repeat the atrocities of Oct[ober] 7,” a statement from Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said.
Reports had suggested that Israel had agreed to the presence of an international force in the area. The Israelis are insistent that its forces retain a presence on the border, despite opposition from Egypt and Hamas.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is flat out lying to the UNSC, a deal is not anywhere near close. Israel continues to make sure a deal only gets further out of reach. All the US is doing is propaganda, trying to make it about Hamas that stands in the way of a deal, while Netanyahu is actively undermining even those efforts. The bridging proposal is a non starter, nothing like Biden's ceasefire proposal he claimed Israel accepted.
I don't get what the US is playing at. Even if Hamas caves in to a humanitarian pause, exchange some Israeli hostages for Palestinian hostages (who will just be rounded up again) and very much needed Polio vaccinations, the war will be on again well before November.
More evidence of war crimes will come out as well during a pause. The only 'win' for Biden and Harris would be a permanent ceasefire which is pretty much written out of the bridging proposal.
