Hamas, Israel and ceasefire
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While UN and European officials hope that a cease-fire deal would help ease suffering among the Strip’s population, Israelis worry that as in the
Former U.S. Amb. to Israel Tom Nides discusses President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israel-Hamas conflict on ‘The Story’.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, met several times with President Trump, amid rising hopes of a cease-fire in Gaza, but there are still obstacles to a truce with Hamas.
Israeli strikes pounded the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, killing at least 34 Palestinians, according to local hospitals.
Israel – with US assistance at the very end – had pulled off a staggering strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure. Operation Rising Lion had reasserted Israeli deterrence, garnered international admiration, and handed Netanyahu a signature moment of strength both domestically and on the world stage.
The talks, mediated by Qatar, the US, and Egypt, have reportedly stalled over two major sticking points: how humanitarian aid would be distributed during the ceasefire and whether Israeli forces would withdraw from areas of Gaza currently under military control.
Israeli media reports that the country's defense minister has outlined plans to pack hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into a closed zone of the Gaza Strip along the border with Egypt.
The decision followed discussions with the European Union, which has pressed Israel to ease the dire humanitarian conditions for Palestinians in the territory.