The Israeli delegation, which includes the heads of its internal and external intelligence services, will meet the director of the CIA, Qatar's prime minister and Egypt's most senior intelligence official for talks over the weekend in what appears to be the most serious push for weeks to halt the fighting.
Pressure on Hamas and Israel to conclude a deal is mounting. There are widespread concerns among observers that an imminent Israeli offensive on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza will cause further extensive civilian casualties and that the start of Ramadan in less than three weeks could ignite widespread unrest in the occupied West Bank and exacerbate risks of a regional conflagration.
Israel says Hamas has four battalions of militants in or around Rafah and that its offensive will go ahead if no ceasefire deal is reached soon.
Washington has called on its close ally not to launch an assault on a city packed with more than 1 million people displaced from elsewhere in Gaza.
Rafah is also the entry point for much of the desperately needed aid that is reaching Gaza, and any further disruption to the already inadequate flow of assistance would worsen an acute humanitarian crisis.
Hamas is waiting to see what mediators from the US, Qatar and Egypt bring back from the weekend talks with Israel in Paris, an official from the militant group said yesterday.
"We discussed our proposal with [the Egyptians] and we are going to wait until they return from Paris," he said.
This story is from the February 24, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the February 24, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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