US believes remaining differences between Israel and Hamas can be bridged during negotiations on Hamas’ latest ceasefire proposal – Firstpost

The United States believes remaining differences between Israel and Hamas can be bridged during negotiations on the Palestinian militant group’s latest ceasefire proposal, with talks resuming in Cairo on Wednesday.

Israeli forces on Tuesday seized the main Gaza-Egypt border crossing in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million displaced Palestinians have sought shelter during Israel’s seven-month offensive. This cut off a crucial route for aid to the small enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people are homeless and hungry.

In Cairo, all five delegations that took part in Tuesday’s ceasefire talks – Hamas, Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar – responded positively to the resumption of negotiations, and the meetings were expected to continue on Wednesday morning, two Egyptian sources said.

CIA Director Bill Burns was expected to travel from Cairo to Israel later on Wednesday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli officials, a source familiar with his travels said.

Israel said on Monday that a three-phase proposal approved by Hamas was unacceptable because conditions had been softened.

White House spokesman John Kirby said Hamas has presented a revised proposal, and the new text suggests the remaining gaps “can absolutely be closed.” During his speech on Tuesday, he declined to specify which they were.

Since the only pause in the conflict so far, a week-long ceasefire in November, the two sides have been gridlocked by Hamas’ refusal to release any more Israeli hostages without a promise of a permanent end to the conflict , and Israel’s insistence on only a temporary halt.

Israeli army footage on Tuesday showed tanks driving through the Rafah crossing complex between Gaza and Egypt and the Israeli flag being raised on the Gaza side. Israel says Rafah is the last stronghold of Hamas fighters.

Hamas official Osama Hamdan, speaking to reporters in Beirut on Tuesday, warned that if Israel’s military aggression continued in Rafah, there would be no ceasefire.

The Israeli military said it was carrying out a limited operation in Rafah to kill fighters and dismantle infrastructure used by Hamas, which controls Gaza. It told civilians, many of whom had been expelled from other parts of Gaza earlier in the conflict, to move to an “extended humanitarian zone” some 20 km (12 miles) away.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appealed to Israel and Hamas to do everything possible to reach a ceasefire. “Make no mistake: a full-scale attack on Rafah would be a human catastrophe,” Guterres said.

In Geneva, UN humanitarian agency spokesman Jens Laerke said “panic and despair” had gripped people in Rafah.

Heavy shelling in Rafah

Residents reported heavy tank shelling in some areas of eastern Rafah on Tuesday evening. A municipal building in Rafah caught fire after Israeli shelling, killing one Palestinian and wounding several, doctors said. An Israeli attack also killed two Palestinians on a motorcycle, they said.

Health officials said Abu Yousef Al-Najar, the main hospital in Rafah, was closed on Tuesday after heavy bombardment nearby caused medical staff and about 200 patients to flee.

“They have gone crazy. Tanks are firing grenades and smoke bombs are covering the sky,” said Emad Joudat, 55, a Gaza City resident displaced in Rafah.

The UN and other international aid agencies said the closure of the two border crossings into southern Gaza – Rafah and Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom – virtually cut off the enclave from outside aid and left very few shops available inside.

Families are crammed into tent camps and makeshift shelters, suffering from shortages of food, water, medicine and other essentials.

Red Crescent sources in Egypt said shipments had stopped completely. “These crossings are a lifeline… They must be reopened without any delay,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN aid agency UNRWA, said on X.

The White House said it had been informed that the Kerem Shalom crossing would reopen on Wednesday and that fuel deliveries through Rafah would also resume.

According to Hamas officials and an official briefed on the talks, the proposal Hamas approved on Monday included a first phase with a six-week ceasefire, an influx of aid to Gaza, the return of 33 Israeli hostages , living or dead, and Israel’s release of 30 detained Palestinian children and women for every Israeli hostage released.

Critics of the Gaza war have urged US President Joe Biden to pressure Israel to change course. The US, Israel’s closest ally and main arms supplier, postponed a number of arms deliveries to Israel by two weeks, according to four sources on Tuesday.

The White House and Pentagon declined comment, but this would be the first delay since the Biden administration offered its full support to Israel following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has killed 34,789 Palestinians in the conflict, most of them civilians, Gaza’s health ministry said.

The war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250 others, 133 of whom are believed to be trapped in Gaza, according to Israeli figures.

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