Truce must to avoid Gaza war expansion: Jordan
US says that multinational talks in Paris came to an ‘understanding’ on a possible deal for Hamas to release hostages and for a new ceasefire in the Gaza war
Jordan’s King Abdullah II warned on Sunday of a wider regional war if Israel presses on with its military campaign in the Gaza Strip during the holy month of Ramadan in March.
At a meeting with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, Abdullah warned “of the continuation of the war on Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan, which will increase the threat of expanding the conflict,” Jordan’s official Petra news agency reported.
Israel has warned that, if Hamas do not free the remaining hostages held in Gaza by the start of Ramadan it will keep fighting during the holy month, including in Rafah along the Egyptian border where around 1.4 million Gazans have sought refuge.
Ramadan is to begin on March 10 or 11, depending on the lunar calendar.
Negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza have resumed in Doha, Egyptian media reported on Sunday, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any deal would not prevent an offensive in Rafah.
This, he said, would put Israel within weeks of “total victory” over Hamas whose Oct.7 atack on Israel triggered the war.
The United States said on Sunday that multinational talks in Paris came to an “understanding” on a possible deal for Hamas to release hostages and for a new ceasefire in the Gaza war.
An Israeli delegation led by Mossad chief David Barnea was in the French capital on Friday to discuss a deal to ensure a fresh ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
“Representatives of Israel, the United States, Egypt, and Qatar met in Paris and came to an understanding among the four of them about what the basic contours of a hostage deal for temporary ceasefire would look like,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN.
“It is still under negotiation in terms of hammering out the details of it. There will have to be indirect discussions by Qatar and Egypt with Hamas because ultimately they will have to agree to release the hostages,” he said.
“That work is underway. And we hope that in the coming days, we can drive to a point where there is actually a firm and final agreement on this issue.”
International pressure for a ceasefire has mounted in recent weeks, as the death toll from Israel’s military offensive on the Palestinian territory nears 30,000, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas — which rules Gaza — in response to its October atack that resulted in the deaths of 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally of official Israeli figures.
Earlier, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that it had nabbed several operatives, who atempted to hide among a group of civilians evacuating from combat zones in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis area.
According to the IDF, the operatives were captured by the 7th Armoured Brigade while trying to flee with the civilian population, The Times of Israel reported.
The IDF added on Sunday that the troops killed several more gunmen and located weapons in the area.
In Khan Younis, the IDF said that the Givati Brigade raided several Hamas sites, locating weapons, and an air strike was carried out against a Hamas cell operating a drone.