Negotiations for a truce in the Gaza Strip continued this Friday in Paris, in what appears to be the most advanced initiative in weeks to stop the conflicts in the Palestinian enclave and obtain the release of Israeli and foreign hostages.
A source who was briefed on the terms but declined to be named said negotiations began with the head of the Mossad — the Israeli intelligence service — meeting separately with representatives from Qatar, Egypt and the United States.
“There are growing signs of optimism about the ability to move towards the start of serious negotiations,” the source said. Egyptian TV station Al Qahera also reported that talks had begun.
A Hamas official said the militant group has finalized negotiations on a ceasefire in Cairo and is now waiting to see what mediators can get out of talks with Israel.
Mediators have stepped up efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an Israeli assault on the city of Rafah, where more than a million displaced people are sheltering on the enclave's southern border.
Israel says it will attack the city if a truce agreement is not reached quickly. Washington has urged its ally not to do so, warning of the possibility of heavy civilian losses if an offensive on the city actually takes place.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met Egyptian mediators in Cairo to discuss the truce last week, his first visit since December.
A Hamas official, who asked not to be named, said the group did not offer any new proposals during talks with the Egyptians, but is waiting to see what mediators will come up with after talks with the Israelis.
Hamas, which still holds more than 100 hostages taken in the October 7 attack on Israel, says it will release them only if the truce conditions Israel's exit from the Gaza Strip. The Jewish State says it will not leave until Hamas is eradicated.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented his ministry with an official plan for the enclave, to be put into practice after the end of the conflicts. He emphasized that Israel hopes to maintain control over the security of the Gaza Strip after destroying the militant group, and also sees no role for the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank, in the enclave.
Washington, on the other hand, wants the participation of a reformed Palestinian Authority in Gaza.
At least 29,514 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, the enclave's Ministry of Health reported this Friday. Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took 253 hostages in southern Israel on October 7.
Source: CNN Brasil
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