Talks held in Cairo about cease-fire in Gaza war
CAIRO — Top representatives from the United States, Israel, Qatar and Egypt have been continuing their efforts to achieve a cease-fire in the Gaza war and to exchange more hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
The head of the Israeli secret service Mossad, David Barnea, arrived in Cairo for talks on Tuesday, dpa learned from airport sources. He was accompanied by the head of the domestic intelligence service Shin Bet, Ronen Bar.
Israeli government sources also reported on Tuesday that the delegation was in Cairo for new negotiations on another hostage deal with the Palestinian Islamist Hamas organization.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and the U.S. CIA intelligence chief William Burns also arrived in the Egyptian capital on Tuesday, according to the sources.
Hamas sources said that the organization had not sent a representative to Cairo. They are waiting for the results of the “ongoing meetings” and the “talks with the mediators are continuing.”
Meanwhile, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Qatar.
“Any agreement must guarantee a cease-fire, the withdrawal of the occupying army from the Gaza Strip, and the completion of a serious exchange deal,” a statement from Hamas cited Haniyeh as saying at the talks.
Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani had previously received Amirabdollahian. Qatar and Iran have been among Hamas’ most important supporters for years.
Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. have been pushing for a longer cease-fire in the Gaza war. As part of a potential agreement, the hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israel in several phases. Negotiations have only made slow progress recently.
During a cease-fire mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. last November, 105 hostages were released in return for 240 Palestinian prisoners.
There are currently 134 people still being held by Hamas, but Israel estimates that at least 30 of them are no longer alive.
Meanwhile, South Africa filed an urgent application with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to examine whether an Israeli expansion of military operations in Rafah is legal under international law.
Rafah, on the border with Egypt, is the last refuge for Palestinians in Gaza, the South African government said in a statement released on Tuesday. The urgent request was filed on Monday.
South Africa is “gravely concerned” that the military offensive in Rafah “has already led to and will result in further large scale killing, harm and destruction.”
It said this would be a “serious and irreparable breach” of both the UN’s Genocide Convention and an ICJ order issued on January 26.
The order, in response to a December South African filing, told Israel to prevent genocidal acts but did not require Israel to end its military operations in Gaza.
Israel entered Gaza after an unprecedented massacre in Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and some 240 kidnapped at the hands of Hamas and other extremist groups.
The ICJ decision was an interim finding in a proceeding that is expected to take years. The court has no enforcement powers.
On Tuesday, criticism of an anticipated Israeli ground offensive in Rafah continued to grow, after staunch allies like the United States, Britain and Germany voiced opposition to conducting a major operation there.
Israel has repeatedly said that it is doing all that it can to protect civilians and said it is working on a plan to evacuate people in Rafah ahead of an offensive.
U.S. media reports, citing Egyptian officials, say Israel wants to build extensive tent cities for the population to be evacuated further north of Rafah. It has asked the United Nations for help.
But on Tuesday the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it will not take part in the forced evacuation of Palestinians from Rafah.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz sharply rejected a call by EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell for a reduction in arms deliveries to the Jewish state.
“Calls to limit Israel’s defence only strengthen Hamas. Rest assured, Israel is resolute in its mission to dismantle Hamas.” Katz said on the platform X, the former Twitter.
On the ground in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had killed “more than 30 terrorists” in the city of Khan Younis, as heavy fighting in south and central Gaza continues.
Two gunmen were killed in western Khan Younis after trying to move “under the cover of the Gazan civilian population,” the IDF said. One was pointing a pistol at an IDF vehicle, the army said.
In another case, several men were attacked from the air after trying to transport an explosive device on a motorbike.
In the central part of Gaza, the IDF said it had killed 10 militants within 24 hours.
The Hamas-run health authority said on Tuesday that 133 Palestinians were killed and 162 injured by Israeli attacks within 24 hours.
It puts the total number of dead at 28,473 since the war started.
Israel said 232 servicemen and women have been killed since the start of the ground offensive and a total of 569 were killed and more than 2,860 injured since October 7.
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