International pressure is intensifying for a truce agreement between Israel and Hamas including a new release of hostages, despite threats of an offensive on Rafah, the last refuge for more than a million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Le Figaro
takes stock of the situation in the Middle East this Tuesday, February 13.
China calls on Israel to stop its military operation in Rafah “as soon as possible”
China on Tuesday called on Israel to stop
its military operation in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip,
“as quickly as possible ,” in order
to “prevent an even more serious humanitarian catastrophe
. ”
“China closely follows the development of the situation in the Rafah region, opposes and condemns actions that harm civilians and violate international law
,” said a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.
“China calls on Israel to end its military operation as soon as possible, to do everything possible to avoid innocent civilian casualties, in order to prevent an even more serious humanitarian catastrophe in the Rafah region.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently ordered his army to prepare an offensive on Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are massed according to the UN, or more than half of the territory's total population.
He repeated on Monday his determination to continue
“military pressure until complete victory”
on Hamas, of which Rafah is the
“last bastion”
, to free
“all our hostages”
.
From the United States to Turkey, international pressure mounts to reach a deal
The director of the CIA, the American central intelligence agency, William Burns, is expected in Cairo on Tuesday for new talks mediated by Qatar relating in particular to the exchange of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, according to sources close to case.
Benjamin Netanyahu repeated on Monday his determination to continue
“military pressure until complete victory”
on Hamas, of which Rafah is the
“last bastion”
, to free
“all our hostages”
.
A few hours earlier, Israel had released two of its hostages, two Israeli-Argentinians, in Rafah, on the border with Egypt, during a night commando operation accompanied by bombings which left around a hundred dead, according to Israeli authorities. Palestinian Islamist movement, in power in Gaza since 2007.
The United States, Israel's main ally, insists it opposes a large-scale operation without a solution for civilians stuck on the closed border with Egypt in the territory's far south.
American President Joe Biden demanded, from Israeli forces, a
“credible”
plan to spare the Palestinian population, prior to any offensive, during a meeting Monday at the White House with the King of Jordan Abdullah II .
The latter went further:
“We cannot afford an Israeli attack on Rafah
,” where the humanitarian situation is already
“unbearable
,” said Abdallah II, who also called for
“an immediate lasting ceasefire.” »
in the Gaza Strip.
“The United States is working on an agreement to release the hostages between Israel and Hamas, which would immediately bring a period of calm of at least six weeks in Gaza
,” said the American president, whose administration rejects always an unconditional and indefinite truce.
This period could lead to
“something more lasting”
, added Joe Biden.
Faced with international fears of a major military offensive, Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed on Sunday that Israel would open
“a secure passage”
to the population to leave Rafah, without specifying to which destination.
“They are going to evacuate”
the Palestinians.
"Or ?
On the moon ?"
, asked the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell in Brussels.
The UN will not be associated with
“a forced population displacement”
in Rafah, for its part warned the spokesperson for the secretary general of the organization.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of Israel's most critical leaders since the start of his operation in Gaza, was also expected in Dubai on Tuesday and in Cairo on Wednesday.
Hamas warned on Sunday that an offensive on Rafah
would “torpedo”
any agreement on the hostages.