Egypt, Qatar discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts after Lebanon truce
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed ceasefire efforts in Gaza after a truce deal was reached in Lebanon.
“We discussed the truce agreement in Lebanon. And we express our hope that this agreement will result in a real ceasefire, and also that its effect will extend to the Gaza Strip – ending this human suffering as soon as possible,” Qatar’s prime minister said at a joint news conference in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital in the Cairo governorate.
“We talked about the sincere and tireless Egyptian-Qatari efforts that continued for more than a year in order to quickly reach a deal that would guarantee an immediate ceasefire and stop the bloodshed of the brotherly Palestinian people with the release of all hostages and a number of Palestinian prisoners,” Egypt’s Foreign Minister Abdelatty added.
Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon in order to increase fire in Gaza
Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara says that Netanyahu has been clear one of the reasons for the ceasefire deal with Lebanon was in order to free up Israeli troops to continue the war on the Gaza Strip.
‘Israel has no intention of withdrawing from Gaza’
We’ve spoken to Gideon Levy, a columnist with Israeli newspaper Haaretz, to find out whether he holds any hope that a deal like the one struck between Israel and Hezbollah can also be reached to end the Israeli war on Gaza any time soon.
Here’s what he had to say:
“It is impossible that this government will approve any kind of deal which will include, like in Lebanon, the withdrawal of the Israeli forces.
“And as long as this is the case, it cannot be a real deal; it can be a pause, and we’ve heard now about one suggestion – the Egyptian offer – to make a pause, to release some hostages, to release some Palestinian prisoners and to go on.
“But unlike in Lebanon, Israel has no intention to evacuate the Gaza Strip. The northern part of Gaza is now totally in ruins and I don’t see a situation in which Palestinians will be allowed to get back to the northern part of Gaza – so the future looks much more problematic in Gaza than in Lebanon.
“As long as the army stays there, there will be resistance – and as long as there is resistance, there will be retaliation. That’s the logic.
“I don’t see a leverage of the Egyptians over the Netanyahu government. The Americans didn’t say anything, and it depends much on them because in Lebanon it was very clear it was the American leverage which made the difference.
“The Americans were very clear about the deal in Lebanon, I’m not sure they will be so devoted about Gaza, especially not in the coming weeks until the new president gets into office.
“And in any case, it will be a very, very limited deal – let’s not have too many expectations about it.”
Netanyahu says ready for Gaza ceasefire, but not an end to the war: Report
The Israeli prime minister made a distinction between a ceasefire agreement in Gaza and a permanent end to the war during the interview with Channel14, his first since the Lebanon ceasefire agreement.
Netanyahu said that Israel intends to continue its war with Hamas and added that he is optimistic about efforts to release the captives held by Hamas.
“The answer is clear: I am ready for a ceasefire in the south, one that we think can achieve the release of the abductees.”
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