Trump vows to guarantee Israel doesn’t resume Gaza war after captives freed
The US president is asked a question that has loomed over the latest round of ceasefire talks: How can he guarantee to Arab partners that Israel will not resume fighting after all captives are released from Gaza?
“So the primary guarantee is, once this deal happens, if it does happen, look, they’re in negotiations right now,” Trump responded.
“We are going to do everything possible. We have a lot of power, and we’re going to do everything possible to make sure everybody adheres to the deal,” he said.
Advocates have long called on the US to leverage its military aid to Israel to force a ceasefire. The US has spent about $21.7bn on military aid for Israel over the two-year war, according to an analysis by the Costs of War project at Brown University.
Trump doesn't have much of a track record of having any backbone, see his 'threats' to Russia...
Hamas underscores guarantee of full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
A senior Hamas official, speaking to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the Gaza negotiations, says the second day of talks between mediators and its delegation in Egypt “concluded a short while ago”.
The Hamas official added:
- The second day in Sharm el-Sheikh focused on withdrawal maps for Israeli forces and scheduling the release of Israeli captives.
- The Hamas delegation demanded linking the stages of the release of Israeli captives to the stages of the withdrawal by Israel’s military.
- The delegation stressed the release of the last Israeli hostage must coincide with the final withdrawal of the occupation forces.
- The delegation underscored the need to receive international guarantees for a final ceasefire, including the removal of all Israeli soldiers from Gaza’s territory.
That's completely opposed to Trump's plan of get the captives out in 72 hours, retreat later...
Hamas says it doesn’t trust Israel ‘not even for a second’
Hamas’s top negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, says the Gaza-based group does “not trust the occupation, not even for a second”, Egyptian state-linked Al Qahera News reports.
“Therefore, we want real guarantees,” al-Hayya said, accusing Israel of violating two ceasefires in the war on Gaza.
“The Israeli occupation throughout history does not keep its promises, and we have experienced it twice in this war.”
Hamas said it’s ready to reach an agreement to permanently end the war and carry out an immediate exchange of captives and Palestinian prisoners with Israel.
Israel has yet to agree to fully withdraw all of its forces from Gaza.
