The celebrations of the “glorious 7 October” and the request for total retreat of the IDF from Gaza block progress at the Egyptian table. Cairo tries to avoid the collapse of the negotiation while Washington prepares a multilevel safety plan
The negotiations For a ceased the fire between Israel And Hamashosted in Egypt with the mediation ofEgypt and the participation of United States And Qatarthey made themselves more tense after the last statements of the jihadist movement. During the first round of talks, Hamas he asked Israel to withdraw their troops from the residential neighborhoods of Gaza as a preliminary condition for the start of the exchange of hostages. A request that, according to the sources of the mediators, caused an immediate stiffening of the Israeli delegationalready reluctant to consider unilateral concessions before the liberation of hostages.
Second Sky News Arabia, Hamas He placed the military retreat as an essential prerequisite, also insisting on the inclusion of six prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment in the list of prisoners to be exchanged. Two points deemed “inadmissible” by Israel and which, according to sources of the Mossadrisk making the first phase of the intensity outlined by the United States shipwrecked. The premier Benjamin Netanyahu he sent to the table of the Cairo a team of medium levelsignal of the caution with which Israel looks at the negotiation. The delegation includes the deputy director of Mossad, the deputy head of the Shin Bet, the coordinator for the hostages Gal Hirschthe general Nitzan Alonthe councilor very close to the Prime Minister Ophir Falkthe head of the Cogat (the military authority for the territories) Rassan Alian and several officers of the Israeli defense forces.
For the part of Hamas, Instead, it is not clear whether the leader leader Khalil al-Hayya – seen on Monday morning in Cairo – he has already reached the tourist resort of Sharm El-Sheikhwhere the meetings are held.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister, Badr Abdelatty, He confirmed that the immediate goal of the interviews is a ceased fire and the simultaneous release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. The delegations, he explained, are discussing maps of the areas from which the Israeli forces they should retire to the initial phasealso comprising the “complete and unconditional” delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza under the Coordination of the United Nations. Washington, who will officially enter the table tomorrow, instead aims to create a “Multilivelo security mechanism“Which guarantees the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops in exchange for effective checks on the disarmament of Hamas. But the tension exploded after that Hamas, on the day of the anniversary of the 7 October 2023has spread a declaration in which he defines that attack – costing life to over 1,200 Israelis – “a glorious day of success for the Palestinian people”. The text, relaunched by Times of Israelcommemorates the leaders of the group killed – Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Saleh Al-Arouri And Mohammed deif – accusing Israel to carry on «A war of extermination and hunger»With the complicity of” Arab and international silence “.
The words, perceived to Jerusalem As a deliberate provocation, they further unexpected the Israeli position. “We cannot speak of peace while glorifying a massacre,” he said to Channel 12 A high official of the Israeli government. «If Hamas considers a success on October 7, it means that he has never intended to negotiate seriously. Any total retreat from the strip would be a political and military suicide for Israel ». From Cairo, an Egyptian diplomatic source mentioned by Ahram He admitted the delicacy of the moment: «The climate at the table is tense. The mediators are trying to prevent the positions from further stiffening, but the rhetoric of Hamas And the Israeli response make any steady forward difficult ». A high Egyptian official, cited by the local media, however confirmed that in indirect interviews the parties reached preliminary understanding on the first phase of the agreement wanted by the American president Donald Trump: partial release of the hostages, ceased temporary fire and controlled entry of humanitarian aid. However, the most delicate political issues remain unresolved, in particular Hamas’s proposal to deliver weapons to a committee Egyptian-Palestinianrejecting any international administration of the strip and the appointment of the former British premier Tony Blair personally chosen by Donald Trump as a transition governor.
From Europe, the commissioner Dubravka Sumica he reiterated that theEuropean Union will support the reconstruction of Gaza Only in the presence of “demilitarization, reform of thePalestinian authority It is full compliance with international law “. The European Union, he added, intends to carry out”A central role in the reconstruction mechanisms through the group of donors for Palestine“. Meanwhile Hezbollahin a message spread through To the manarurged the Arab countries to “Tighten ranks against Israel“, Defining the Jewish state” a cancer to be eradicated from the heart of Middle East“. A language that, according to Egyptian analysts, risks compromising the fragile balance of Sharm’s negotiation and pushing Jerusalem to a further closure. The Cairowhich has so far maintained a difficult neutrality, tries to save the diplomatic table. But the impression, shared by multiple international observers, is that the celebrations of Hamas For October 7 and the claim of an immediate military retreat have moved the axis of the comparison on a political and symbolic land, making every concrete step more remote towards the respite. Finally, while we write, it is learned that the Israeli defense forces (IDF) have announced that the Chief of staff, the general Eyal Zamir, ordered to raise the army alert to the highest level during the holiday of Sukkot. The decision came after a safety assessment held in the day with the Senior commanders of the IDF, In light of the growing concerns for possible escalations on several fronts. According to reports from the army, Zamir He ordered that defense operations have priority until the end of the holiday. “We are fully ready – both in defense and in attack – on every front,” he said Zamir in a press release. «Our goal is to ensure that every Israeli can celebrate Sukkot In security and in peace ».
