Israel Accused of Stalling Efforts to Secure Long-term Truce

Palestinians wait at the Rafah crossing to enter Egyptian territory. (AP)
Palestinians wait at the Rafah crossing to enter Egyptian territory. (AP)
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Israel Accused of Stalling Efforts to Secure Long-term Truce

Palestinians wait at the Rafah crossing to enter Egyptian territory. (AP)
Palestinians wait at the Rafah crossing to enter Egyptian territory. (AP)

Israel Hayom reported that negotiations are not progressing since the ceasefire was announced between Hamas and Israel.

A high-ranking Egyptian intelligence official familiar with the matter told the newspaper that Egyptian intelligence officials are accusing Israeli officials of stalling Cairo’s efforts to reach a long-term ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.

They are also preventing progress in the prisoner exchange deal and the reconstruction of the Strip, according to the official.

The political situation in Israel does not facilitate the process, as it currently has no government that takes decisions, and all discussions are “nothing but empty talk,” the source told the right-wing newspaper.

The Egyptian official explained that Israel is addressing the talks and rebuilding Gaza on two separate paths, which is delaying the launch of indirect talks with Hamas, mediated by the Egyptian General Intelligence.

The first track addresses the political-security situation and is established by the Prime Minister’s office in cooperation with the Ministry of Security, and affiliated political and senior security and intelligence officials. While the second is a diplomatic track led by the Foreign Ministry.

Last week, Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi met with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Cairo.

An Egyptian diplomat told the newspaper that the discussions during the meeting between Egyptian Intelligence Minister Abbas Kamel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Gantz and senior officials, contradicted Ashkenazi’s messages to Shoukry.

“It is very difficult to negotiate in this way, and we very much hope that Israel wakes up,” he said, adding that the new government that will be formed will also take several weeks to engage in decisions, and “unfortunately there is not enough time for such procrastination and delay.”

The newspaper's claims confirm similar reports which addressed the delay in the discussions to achieve a comprehensive truce in the Palestinian territories. However, a number of top Israeli officials believe the prisoners swap deal can be resolved soon.

The cautious optimism comes after Israel changed its policy at the end of the war.

Israel stipulated linking the truce to progress in the file of the soldiers captured by Hamas, and even the adoption of a basic humanitarian policy only until their return.

As part of this policy, Israel only allows the entry of medical equipment, food, medicine and fuel into the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing. Patients are allowed to travel through the Erez crossing for treatment.

At this stage, according to the newspaper, Israel is also preventing the export of goods from the coastal enclave, which is an important issue not only for Gaza merchants but also for a significant number of Israeli companies.

Israel is justifying its decision by claiming there is no humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip after the war.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Forces Kill 18

A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP
A Palestinian mourns a relative killed in a strike on a school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza - AFP

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 18 people on Friday, including 10 who were waiting for aid in the south of the war-ravaged territory.

The fresh deaths came as the United Nations said nearly 800 people had been killed trying to access food in Gaza since late May, when Israel began easing a more than two-month total blockade on supplies.

UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said most of the deaths occurred near facilities operated by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, AFP reported.

"We've recorded now 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the GHF sites," from the time the group's operations began in late May until July 7, Shamdasani said Friday.

An officially private effort, GHF operations have been marred by chaotic scenes and frequent reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations.

The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives and violates basic humanitarian principles.

Responding to the UN's figures, Israel's military said it had worked to minimize "possible friction between the population and the army forces as much as possible".

"Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted... and instructions were issued to forces in the field following lessons learned," it added.

Gaza civil defense official Mohammed al-Mughayyir said that 10 people were shot by Israeli forces on Friday while waiting for supplies in the Al-Shakoush area northwest of Rafah, where there are regular reports of deadly fire on aid seekers.

- 'Extremely difficult' -

The civil defense reported six more people killed in four separate Israeli airstrikes in the area of Khan Yunis, in the south of the territory.

Two drone strikes around Gaza City in the north killed two more people, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

There was no immediate comment on the latest strikes from the Israeli military, which has recently expanded its operations across Gaza.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.

A Palestinian speaking to AFP from southern Gaza on condition of anonymity reported ongoing attacks and widespread devastation, with Israeli tanks seen near Khan Yunis.

"The situation remains extremely difficult in the area -- intense gunfire, intermittent airstrikes, artillery shelling, and ongoing bulldozing and destruction of displacement camps and agricultural land to the south, west and north of Al-Maslakh," an area to Khan Yunis's south, said the witness.

Israel's military said in a statement that its soldiers were operating in the area, dismantling "terrorist infrastructure sites, both above and below ground", and seizing "weapons and military equipment".

The civil defense also reported on Friday five people killed in an Israeli strike the previous night on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Jabalia al-Nazla, in northern Gaza.

Nearly all of Gaza's population has been displaced at least once during the more than 21-month war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people living there.

Many have sought shelter in school buildings, but these have repeatedly come under Israeli attack, with the military often saying they were targeting Hamas militants hiding among civilians.