Press conference by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem
par nidal al-mughrabi et emily rose
The chief negotiator of Hamas met Wednesday with Egyptian mediators about a possible ceasefire in Gaza, while Israel invited the Palestinians to leave the territory upstream of his offensive for the takeover of the main city of the Enclave.
The Israeli security firm last week approved a project to take control of the city of Gaza. The Prime Minister of the country, Benjamin Netanyahu, reiterated an idea – shared by American president Donald Trump – that the Gazaouis should simply leave the Gaza band.
“They are not pushed outside, they will be allowed to go out,” he told the Israeli television channel I24News.
“All those who worry about the Palestinians and say they want to help them should open their doors and stop giving us the lesson.”
The majority of Arab and Western leaders said they were horrified by the idea of moving the population of Gaza, which, according to the Palestinians, would be equivalent to a new “Nakba” (disaster). This term designates the Palestinian exodus during the 1948 war.
Taking the city of Gaza by Israel will probably not be done for several weeks, according to Israeli officials. A ceasefire is still possible, although the previous negotiations have failed and the conflict is still raging in Gaza.
The Gaza Ministry of Health said that at least 123 people had been killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours.
Israeli planes and tanks have heavily bombed the eastern districts of the city of Gaza, according to residents. Many houses were destroyed in the districts of Zeitoun and Shejaia during the night. Al-Ahli Hospital said 12 people had been killed in an air strike on a house in Zeitoun.
Tank also destroyed several houses in eastern Khan Younès, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
In the center of the enclave, Israeli fire killed nine aid seekers in two separate incidents, according to Palestinian doctors.
The Israeli army made no comments.
Eight other people, including three children, died of hunger and malnutrition in Gaza in the past 24 hours, said the Ministry of Health of the territory. A total of 235 people, including 106 children, died of these causes in Gaza since the start of the war.
Israel disputes the figures put forward by the Enclave Ministry of Health led by Hamas concerning the deaths due to malnutrition.
The meetings of the chief negotiator of Hamas, Khalil al-Hayya, with Egyptian officials in Cairo had to focus on stopping war, the delivery of aid and “the end of the sufferings of our people in Gaza,” said Taher al-Nono, head of Hamas, in a statement.
Egyptian security sources have indicated that talks would also relate to the possibility of a global cease-fire. As part of this measure, Hamas would give up the management of the Gaza Strip and its arms.
A Hamas official told Reuters that the group was open to all ideas if Israel withdrew from the enclave. However, “putting their arms before the occupation is dismantled is impossible,” he said on condition of anonymity.
(Written by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo and Emily Rose in Jerusalem; French version Etienne Breban; edited by Augustin Turpin)