New Round of Ceasefire Negotiations in Gaza Begins, Israeli Military Offensive Continues Unabated
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, February 24: A new round of ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip was held in Paris, the French capital, on the 23rd, with representatives from Israel, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt participating. On the same day, the Israeli army continued its offensive in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 100 Palestinians in 24 hours.
The Quartet Gathers Again in Paris
Egypt’s Cairo News Network reported that a new round of ceasefire negotiations began on the 23rd and is expected to last until the weekend.
Sources who did not want to be named told Reuters that Israeli representative David Barnea, director of the Intelligence and Secret Service (Mossad), met with representatives from Qatar, Egypt, and the United States respectively on the 23rd. “There are early signs of optimism towards serious negotiations,” the source said.
According to Israeli media reports, representatives attending the Paris talks also included U.S. CIA Director William Burns, Qatar Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and Egypt’s General Intelligence Service Director Al Bas Kamal.
Egyptian officials said Kamal held talks with visiting Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on the 22nd. A Hamas official who requested anonymity said that Hamas did not propose a new ceasefire plan in its talks with Egypt and planned to wait for Egypt to come back with “words” after the Paris negotiations before making a decision.
Hamas and Israel refused to negotiate face-to-face, with Hamas represented by Egypt and Qatar. The last round of Paris negotiations was held on January 28. After the meeting, Egypt conveyed the negotiated ceasefire plan to Hamas. Hamas later made its own demands based on this plan, but Israel rejected them.
Hamas demands an end to Israel’s military operations, a complete ceasefire, a withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the release of a large number of Palestinian personnel held in Israeli prisons. Israel only agreed to a short-term ceasefire, required Hamas to release Israeli personnel still detained, and vowed to advance operations until Hamas’s military power was eliminated.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said talks can move forward only if Hamas abandons these “whimsical demands.” Israel has threatened to launch a ground attack on Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, if a ceasefire agreement cannot be reached in the near future.
Rafah currently houses more than half of the population of the Gaza Strip, most of whom are people who have fled from other parts of the Gaza Strip. Israel claimed that it would evacuate civilians, but did not specify where. The international community has strongly called on Israel to avoid attacking Rafah, which would cause massive civilian casualties.
Neither Side Gives In
Palestinian officials familiar with the ceasefire negotiations revealed that Hamas is still unwilling to make concessions at this stage and still demands that Israeli troops withdraw from the Gaza Strip.
Osama Hamdan, a senior member of Hamas, accused Israel at a press conference held in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, on the 23rd: “Israel’s position and its response to mediation have always been negative, which has caused many obstacles to reaching an agreement. Netanyahu is delaying… He does not care about the life or death of the detained persons, but only uses them as bargaining chips to achieve his goals.”
Netanyahu submitted a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip to the Israeli Security Cabinet on the 22nd. According to the plan, the Israeli army will continue its military operations in the Gaza Strip until it destroys Hamas’s military power; the Israeli army will “maintain freedom of movement throughout the Gaza Strip indefinitely to prevent the resurgence of terrorist activities”; in addition to maintaining public order The Gaza Strip will be completely disarmed if necessary; responsibility for civil administration and maintaining public order in the Gaza Strip will be given to “local organizations with administrative experience” rather than the Palestinian Authority.
This post-war plan has been criticized by the Palestinian side and the international community. John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the White House National Security Council, said the United States supports a “reformed” Palestinian Authority to govern the post-war Gaza Strip on behalf of the Palestinians.
The health department in the Gaza Strip said on the 23rd that in the past 24 hours, Israeli military operations resulted in 104 deaths and 160 injuries. According to multiple media reports, the home of a Palestinian comedian with millions of followers on social media was bombed by Israeli troops. He was injured and more than 20 people died.
According to the latest figures, since the outbreak of the new round of conflict, Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip have killed more than 29,500 people. (Wang Hongbin)