Following the release of two hostages held by the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, diplomatic efforts to end violence in the Middle East are in full swing. While Egypt aims to pave the way for this with a “summit for peace” on Saturday, Israel is staying away from the meeting of numerous heads of state and government in the Middle East region and allowing its own army to continue preparing a possible site . offensive against Hamas.
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Meanwhile, the situation for the hundreds of thousands of refugees in the south of the closed Gaza Strip is becoming increasingly unbearable. Aid supplies for them remain stuck in Egypt.
Two weeks after the start of the war, Hamas released two American hostages, Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli responsible for the kidnapped and missing persons, Brigadier General Gal Hirsch, received the two at the Gaza Strip border.
In one photo they are seen holding hands with deer, accompanied by soldiers. Hamas also released a video of the hostage transfer. US President Joe Biden then spoke by telephone with the freed people and assured them of support in recovering “from this terrible ordeal”. “I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their families, who have been tormented by fear,” the US president said in Washington on Friday.
The Israeli army wrote in Telegram on Saturday about the release of the two American hostages: “Hamas presents itself to the world as if it were returning the women it took hostage for humanitarian reasons, while in reality Hamas has a murderous organization.” which currently holds infants, children, women and the elderly hostage in the Gaza Strip and continues to commit crimes against humanity.”
Hamas’ military wing had earlier announced the release of the two American citizens in “response to Qatar’s efforts.” Following Hamas’s devastating terrorist attacks, Israel wants to eliminate the Islamic organization’s military capabilities and rule. More than 1,400 people fell victim to Hamas attacks in Israel. At least 203 people were also kidnapped.
Since the Hamas attacks, Israel has been bombing targets in the Gaza Strip. According to the latest information from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, 4,137 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 70 percent of them children and women. More than a thousand people are missing. They were probably under the rubble.
Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on Israel to delay a ground offensive in the hermetically sealed coastal enclave to buy more time for the release of even more hostages held by Hamas, as the Wall Street Journal reported. Israel will not participate in the “Summit for Peace” in Egypt, which will be attended by numerous heads of state and government from the Middle East region, as well as UN representatives and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. According to a spokesperson, they were not invited and did not participate.
German Foreign Minister Baerbock hopes the meeting will send a signal against an expansion of the Gaza war. She warned Iran and its allied Shiite militias, such as the Lebanese Hezbollah, against becoming involved in the war in Gaza. There have been repeated gun battles with Hezbollah on Israel’s border with Lebanon for days.
Meanwhile, aid supplies for the people of the Gaza Strip remain stuck in Egypt. The reason is the requirements for the opening of the border post and its passage to people in need, UN Secretary General António Guterres said before the Rafah border crossing on the Egyptian side. “Behind these walls we have two million people suffering immensely,” Guterres said.
“They have no water, no food, no medicine, no fuel, they are being shot at. (…) And on this side there are trucks (…) with exactly the stuff that is needed on the other side.” US President Biden says he expects the first aid deliveries to arrive in the next one to two days the coastal strip closed by Israel. He received assurances from Israel and Egypt that the Rafah border crossing would be open. The access road was in poor condition and needed to be asphalted.
The war between Israel and Hamas and the threat of regional expansion could drive the West and the rest of the world even further apart, an expert said. “From a global perspective, the war in the Middle East threatens to strengthen the enemies of a rules-based world order worldwide,” Israel expert Stephan Vopel of the Bertelsmann Foundation told the German news agency. Iran, but also China and Russia benefited from “anti-Israel sentiments among the populations of Arab and Islamic states.” At the same time, the conflict threatens to “jeopardize the West’s rapprochement with the states of the South,” as the West is accused of taking one-sided sides in favor of Israel, Vopel said. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
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