On Friday night, a senior White House official said that “serious discussions” were underway about a ceasefire, while also stressing that there was no agreement yet. “We are doing everything possible to ensure that all hostages of all nationalities leave Gaza,” the official emphasized to journalists.
However, no solution has yet been found in negotiations with Hamas. The terrorist organization demands that, in addition to the foreign hostages, injured Palestinians also be allowed to leave Gaza. However, an analysis of the list presented showed that a third of them were members of Hamas. “This was simply unacceptable for Egypt, for us and for Israel.”
Netanyahu: There is no ceasefire without the release of hostages
According to Israeli data, in the major attack on Israel on October 7, the radical Islamist Hamas killed 1,400 people and kidnapped around 240 hostages to the Gaza Strip. US President Joe Biden’s administration had already stated several times that it did not support a ceasefire and instead called for “humanitarian disruptions”. US Secretary of State Blinken recently campaigned in vain for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
IMAGO/ZUMA Wire/Amos Ben Gershom/Israel Gpox Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv
A humanitarian ceasefire allows for precautions to be taken to increase the safety of civilians and facilitates the delivery of aid, Blinken said on Friday. It was his second visit to Israel in just a few weeks. He also emphasized that the only way to guarantee long-term security in Israel is a two-state solution. This envisages the establishment of a Palestinian state that coexists peacefully with Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, however, said that Israel rejected a temporary ceasefire that “does not include the release of our hostages.” According to Israeli information, there are currently 241 hostages in the hands of Hamas. Like the US, Israel also criticizes a general ceasefire. In his opinion, a ceasefire would allow Hamas, which governs the country, to reorganize itself.
Portal/Anas al-Shareef An ambulance was attacked in front of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza city.
“Dozens of terrorists” killed, attack on ambulance
Meanwhile, Israel continued its attacks in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army claims to have killed “dozens of terrorists” in another ground operation in the Gaza Strip. The army announced on Saturday morning that there had been numerous attempts to attack Israeli troops from tunnels and military installations in the northern Gaza Strip the previous day. Soldiers killed terrorists, found Hamas weapons, and discovered tunnels that were used for terrorist purposes.
Israeli tanks destroyed three Hamas observation posts in the northern Gaza Strip and killed several of them in battles with 15 terrorists, he said. During the night, the Israeli army also carried out a targeted attack in the southern Gaza Strip to clear buildings and defuse explosive devices. During the operation, troops encountered a “terrorist cell” that emerged from a tunnel. The troops fired at the terrorists and killed them, he said.
Gaza ambulance attack
Israel confirmed an attack on an ambulance in front of a hospital in Gaza City. It was said that Hamas used this.
The Israeli army also confirmed an air strike on an ambulance in front of Al-Shifa hospital, in Gaza city, which was used by a Hamas “terrorist cell”. According to the Red Crescent, it was a convoy of five ambulances. The UN strongly condemned the attack on the ambulance. “I am horrified,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, adding that the images of “bodies strewn on the street in front of the hospital” were “heartbreaking.”
Flashing in Jordan
According to Jordanian information, US Secretary of State Blinken wants to discuss the war in the Middle East with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries in the region on Saturday, in the local capital, Amman. Jordan wants to coordinate with Arab states ahead of the meeting in order to “end the Israeli war against Gaza and the humanitarian catastrophe it has caused,” the Jordanian news agency Petra reported late on Friday, citing a source -spokesperson for the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.