More on Trump envoy’s ceasefire push
The Reuters news agency reported earlier that Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, was in Qatar and Israel in late November to kickstart the president-elect’s effort to reach a ceasefire deal for Gaza.
It quoted a US official as saying that Biden’s aides have been aware of Witkoff’s contacts with Israeli, Qatari and other Middle East officials and understand that Trump’s envoy supports a Gaza deal along the lines the administration has been pursuing.
The unnamed official told Reuters that US President Joe Biden’s team has kept the Trump camp updated, but the two sides have not worked together directly. The Biden administration does not see a need to coordinate with Witkoff because it regards his discussions with regional players as largely an effort to learn the issues rather than negotiations, the official said.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who met Witkoff, told the UK’s Sky News that Trump wants a deal before he takes power. Sheikh Mohammed said a deal was “90 percent there” and expressed cautious optimism that it could be pushed over the finishing line with “maximum pressure” on all parties.
What kind of deal though, temporary 'ceasefire' for hostage exchange or an actual end to the war. If it's the first I doubt Israel will cooperate letting more aid in, let alone let people return to the North and other areas.
Israel’s Ben-Gvir hopes to do ‘big things’ in Gaza with Trump’s support: Report
After US President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House next month, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir wants to present him with “a programme to encourage migration [of Palestinians from] and settlements [of Israelis] in Gaza”.
In an interview with a podcast of the Maariv newspaper, Ben-Gvir said it would be the “moral” and “logical” choice for Trump to join “this endeavour”. “It will also be good for the residents of Gaza who emigrate, voluntarily of course,” he claimed. “I think it will also do us good.”
“When have we defeated our enemies? It’s always been when we’ve taken territory from them. When we liberated – they call it ‘occupied’ I say we liberated – the territory, that’s always been the thing that punishes them most,” he said.
Israel’s Ben-Gvir calls for fuel deliveries to Gaza to be halted
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has said Israel should stop fuel supplies from entering the Gaza Strip until Israeli captives are released.
“We have to stop their fuel for a few months, I believe they will fall to their knees and say ‘take the hostages and bring fuel,'” the minister was quoted as saying by Israel’s Army Radio.
This is not the first time the nationalist far-right minister has suggested fuel should not be allowed into the enclave, where shortages of it are causing a catastrophic humanitarian situation. Throughout the war, Israel has drastically limited the entrance of combustible materials into Gaza, causing generators for bakeries, hospitals and water desalination plants to stop functioning.
Human rights activists and the UN have repeatedly urged Israel to allow more fuel and other aid to enter the Strip.
Fuel shortage may halt all humanitarian services in southern Gaza: Civil defence
The general directorate of Gaza’s civil defence has warned of a complete halt to the service and humanitarian interventions it provides to displaced Palestinians in the area that the Israeli military claims is “humanitarian” in the southern Gaza Strip.
Muhammad al-Mughair, director of supply and equipment of Gaza’s civil defence, says since October 7 last year, international organisations have refused to provide his organisation with fuel “under the pretext of preventing the Israeli occupation”.
Al-Mughair confirmed that Palestinian Civil Defence crews are still providing their humanitarian services throughout the Gaza Strip with the minimum available resources and capabilities.
This week, 13 out of 22 fire and rescue vehicles stopped working in the southern Gaza Strip due to the shortage, he added.
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