The indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire in Gaza is trying to withdraw the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Palestinian territory devastated by 21 months of war, Palestinian sources close to discussions told AFP on Saturday.
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During the talks in Doha launched on Sunday through the mediators (Qatar, the United States, Egypt), the Israeli army continued its offensive in the Gaza Strip, where 14 Palestinians were killed in new strikes according to the local civil defense.
The war in Gaza was launched by an unprecedented attack on the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023. In retaliation, the Israeli army launched a deadly destructive offensive, seizing vast sectors of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed the objectives of war this last day: to release the hostages held in Gaza, destroy Hamas and hunt it from Gaza. He previously indicated that he wanted to take control of the Palestinian territory located on the southern border of Israel.
Negotiations in Doha encounters “obstacles and complex difficulties,” said one of the two Palestinian sources, by implicating “the instance of Israel” to stick to a card providing for “the maintenance of (its) forces on more than 40% of the area of Gaza”.
According to her, the Israeli army would plan to redeploy all around the territory of more than two million inhabitants, besieged by Israel for 21 months and who have lived in terrible conditions according to the UN.
Israel now aims to “pile up hundreds of thousands of displaced people” in southern Gaza, “in preparation for a forced displacement of the population to Egypt or other countries,” accused the same source.
“Progress” despite everything
The mediators “asked both parties to postpone the negotiations on the (Israeli) withdrawal until the arrival of the American emissary Steve Witkoff,” she continued.
“Hamas demanded a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from all areas taken up by Israel after March 2, 2025, the second Palestinian source told AFP, accusing Israel” of delaying and hindering the agreement, in order to continue its war of extermination “.
However, it has reported “progress” on issues related to the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel.
Of the 251 people kidnapped in the attack on October 7, 49 are still retained in Gaza, 27 of whom were declared dead by the Israeli army.
Before his return Friday of a visit to the United States where he met President Donald Trump, Netanyahu said Thursday that he was ready to negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Gaza after a possible 60-day truce.
But he conditioned a permanent ceasefire to a disarmament of Hamas and to an abandonment by this movement of the governance of the territory.
“250 terrorist targets”
In the Gaza Strip, among the 14 dead, a man, his wife and their child died in their tent after an Israeli night strike in a DEIR al-Balah (center), according to Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for civil defense.
The Israeli army said in a statement that it has “struck around 250 terrorist targets” during the last 48 hours through Palestinian territory.
These targets included “fighters, trapped buildings, arms deposits, launching posts of anti-tank missiles, snipers, tunnels and other terrorist infrastructures”, she detailed.
Given the restrictions imposed on the media in Gaza and the difficulties of access to the field, AFP is not able to independently check the balance sheets and affirmations of the various parties.
The attack on October 7 left 1,219 people dead on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count made from official data.
At least 57,823 Palestinians, mainly civilians, were killed in the Israeli reprisal campaign in Gaza, according to data from the Ministry of Health of the Government of Hamas, deemed reliable by the UN.