US scrambles to salvage cease-fire talks as Israel chokes off Rafah

The White House on Tuesday pushed for a cease-fire agreement to suspend fighting in the Gaza Strip as Israel carries out limited military operations to seize the key border crossing into Rafah.

The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, has been working for weeks on a proposed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that would secure the release of Israeli hostages. And while Hamas announced Monday that it had accepted an offer for a temporary ceasefire, Israel said the group’s terms fell short of its core demands.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is betting that launching a military operation against the southern Gaza city of Rafah will increase pressure on Hamas.

“We understand that the time remaining for the hostages’ lives is running out,” Israel Ziv, a former Gaza Strip commander and former head of Israel’s Directorate of Operations, said in a call with reporters on Tuesday morning.

“The first priority is to maximize trading options…that’s what maximum pressure is all about,” he continued.

White House national security and communications adviser John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday that the United States was closely monitoring Israeli actions in Rafah, but warned that the He expressed the view that it had not reached the level of a typical military operation. Kirby said the operation was aimed at cutting off Hamas’ ability to transport weapons across the border to Rafah.

“No matter how they described this, it’s not on par with the size, scale, duration, scope of a large-scale ground operation. But again, it’s just getting started,” Kirby said. “The president was very clear yesterday about consistent concerns about that. So we’re going to continue to look at that.”

“We do not support any operation that would put the 1.5 million people seeking refuge in Rafah at greater risk,” he added.

Israeli Defense Minister Job Gallant said on Tuesday that the Israeli military is ready to step up operations in Gaza if ceasefire talks fail, saying this is a sign of the unstable situation in the region.

CIA Director Bill Burns, who has been leading the US effort in the negotiations, reportedly arrived in Cairo on Tuesday along with delegations from Israel, Hamas, Egypt and Qatar. The United States and Israel have no direct involvement with Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

Kirby told reporters that the United States was optimistic that the delegation could resolve remaining differences over the ceasefire agreement.

“Our understanding of the document is that they should be able to fill in these gaps, and hopefully very soon,” Kirby said.

“I don’t really want to talk about specific parameters,” Kirby added. “At this very delicate stage, at this very sensitive time that we are negotiating, I think it is best to have the negotiators fill in the existing gaps.”

For months, the White House has been pushing for a Gaza ceasefire deal that would both free hostages taken by Hamas in an Israeli attack last October and further expand humanitarian aid to Gaza, where more than 34,000 Palestinians were killed. We have strived to obtain Tens of thousands more do not have enough food, water or medicine.

President Biden has grown increasingly frustrated with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent months and could reassess aid to Israel if the United States does not do more to protect civilians and aid workers in the Gaza Strip. He even suggested.

Even with the Biden administration, reportedly suspended The shipment of ammunition to Israel remains unclear. The National Security Supplemental Package that Biden signed into law last month provides nearly $27 billion in military assistance related to Israel and the United States’ security needs.

Biden is trying to balance pledges of support for Israel with public warnings that Netanyahu’s approach needs to change. On Tuesday, he sought to emphasize that he has no intention of abandoning Israel even amid friction between the two countries.

In a speech condemning anti-Semitism at the Capitol, Mr. It’s a thing,” he said.

Israel estimates there are 133 Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, but it is unclear how many remain alive or are under Hamas control. Israel is seeking the evacuation of 40 of its most vulnerable hostages (children, women, the elderly and the injured) in the first phase of the deal, but Jerusalem says Hamas negotiators have little idea of ​​that number. He said it suggested that it could not be reached.

The main difference in demands between Israel and Hamas appears to center on the length of the fighting hiatus. Hamas is calling for a ceasefire that would lead to an end to the war. Israel’s war objective is to eliminate Hamas’ ability to control Gaza.

Another problem is that while Israel wants control of the list, Hamas demands the names of Palestinian prisoners it wants released from Israeli prisons. And the number of days until a ceasefire is related to the number of people released by both sides.

Shortly after Hamas announced its acceptance of the ceasefire agreement, Israel’s War Cabinet voted unanimously on Monday night to proceed with what it called a limited operation against Rafah, while maintaining hostage release and ceasefire negotiations.

The Israeli military carried out airstrikes in eastern Rafah on Monday night and closed border crossings with Egypt after sending text, leaflet and phone warnings to an estimated 100,000 Palestinians to evacuate the conflict-prone area. They announced that they had occupied the place.

The operation began despite Biden’s warning in a phone call to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday morning ET. Biden has long warned Netanyahu against launching an operation without a credible plan to protect civilians in Rafah, where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians have taken shelter in the city. .

Rafah’s border with Egypt is the main artery for humanitarian aid entering Gaza and the exit point for Gazans. Hostages released by Hamas during a week-long ceasefire in November were transported through the Rafah crossing.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres put aid groups on alert, calling the all-out assault on the southern city a “human catastrophe” and calling on Israel to de-escalate tensions around Rafah.

“Rafah is the epicenter of humanitarian operations in Gaza. Attacking him will further undermine our efforts to support people on the brink of famine and in dire humanitarian predicament,” Guterres said. Stated.

“Even to Israel’s best friends, it is clear that the attack on Rafah is a strategic mistake, a political disaster, and a humanitarian nightmare.”

Retired Israeli general Ziv said the Israeli government’s stance on occupying the Rafah crossing sends a clear message to Hamas.

“The Rafah corridor, this is the main strategic corridor into the Gaza Strip, and of course, by holding it, it’s like holding Israel’s air access to Gaza,” he said.

“This should give Hamas a clear understanding that Israel holds the main key.”