The Israeli government's security council will meet today to discuss the continuation of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, while Israeli negotiators are expected in Cairo, following the contacts that Israeli government officials had in Jerusalem with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio, who is expected in Saudi Arabia today, wanted to demonstrate a united front with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against common enemies.
"Hamas cannot remain a military or governmental force (…) it must be eliminated," stressed US Secretary of State Rubio. For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu threatened to open the "gates of hell" on Hamas and "finish the job" with Iran, an ally of the Palestinian movement.
Netanyahu's services announced a meeting of the government's security council today to discuss the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, which, at least in theory, will guarantee the release of all hostages and a definitive end to the war.
They also announced the dispatch of a team of Israeli negotiators to Cairo today to discuss the continuation of the implementation of the first phase of the agreement.
It was implemented on January 19, after 15 months of devastating war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by an unprecedented Hamas raid on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, during which hundreds of people were kidnapped and taken to the coastal Palestinian enclave.
The ceasefire almost collapsed a few days ago, following threats by Hamas to suspend hostage releases and by Israel to resume the war, with the parties accusing each other of violating the agreement.
However, following the efforts of mediators, Qatar and Egypt, Hamas released three more Israeli hostages the day before yesterday, Saturday, and the Israeli authorities released 369 Palestinian prisoners, as part of the sixth such exchange since January 19.
Of the 251 people kidnapped on October 7, 2023, 70 continue to be held in the Gaza Strip, of whom at least 35 are dead, according to Israeli military estimates.
Rubio: Hamas is playing with fire
Rubio condemned Hamas's continued holding of hostages in the Gaza Strip. "The fact that these terrorists continue to hold hostages and even corpses is a testament to their depravity," he said.
The movement is "playing with fire" by not releasing all the hostages, insisted the head of American diplomacy, who is making his first tour of the Middle East, which is also expected to take him to the United Arab Emirates.
The three phases of the ceasefire
The first phase of the ceasefire, which will end on March 1, has seen the release of 19 Israeli hostages and 1.134 Palestinians. A total of 33 hostages, including 8 dead, are expected to be returned to Israel in exchange for the release of 1.900 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
Israel, which has placed the Gaza Strip under siege since October 2023, must also allow larger quantities of humanitarian aid to enter there during the same phase, based on the terms of the agreement.
The third and final phase will in theory be dedicated to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, a titanic project that the UN estimates will require spending over 53 billion dollars.
But if any proof was needed of how fragile the truce is, Hamas yesterday accused Israel of a “serious violation” of the agreement, following an airstrike that killed three police officers in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said it targeted “gunmen.”
Hamas speaks of the failure of the agreement
The Palestinian movement also accuses Israel of continuing to block the entry into the Gaza Strip of prefabricated houses and equipment necessary to conduct searches in the rubble, which it says shows "the failure" of the agreement.
In the October 7, 2023 raid on southern sectors of Israeli territory by Hamas militants based in the neighboring Gaza Strip, 1.211 people were killed on the Israeli side, the majority of them civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse count based on official Israeli data, which includes hostages who died in captivity or were already dead when they were transferred to the enclave.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to wipe out Hamas, in power in the Gaza Strip since 2007, and in the large-scale military operations it launched, causing untold destruction in the small coastal region, at least 48.271 people lost their lives, the majority of them civilians, according to data from the Hamas Health Ministry, which is considered reliable by the UN.
Although weakened, Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the US and the EU, is far from being eliminated, experts point out.
Netanyahu: With US support, I will finish the job
Speaking of a “joint strategy” with Trump regarding the future of the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu once again praised the Republican’s proposal for the US to take “control” of the Palestinian territory by displacing its 2,4 million residents to Egypt and Jordan. The plan is rejected by both countries, as are many other governments internationally.
"We will make an effort to ensure that this vision becomes a reality," Netanyahu said, continuing to defy international outcry.
Israel occupied the Gaza Strip from 1967 to 2005, before imposing a complete blockade on the coastal enclave when Hamas took power there. It continues to occupy the West Bank and east Jerusalem since 1967.
Netanyahu also announced that Israel, with the support of the US, will "finish the job" against Iran, which Rubio described as the most important "source of instability" in the region.
During the visit of the US Secretary of State, Israel announced that it had received a shipment of "heavy bombs" from the US, the deliveries of which the Trump administration decided to resume.
Source: protothema
