“Positive”
discussions
around a truce, expectation of an offensive on Rafah, hunt for Yahya Sinouar...
Le Figaro
takes stock of the situation in the Middle East this Wednesday, February 14.
“Positive”
discussions
around a truce
Egypt, a traditional mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly in Gaza, hosted on Tuesday the directors of American and Israeli intelligence as well as the head of the Qatari government for talks on a truce including a new release of hostages.
The Israeli delegation then left Cairo, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.
Discussions between CIA Director William Burns, Mossad Chief David Barnea, Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egyptian officials were “
positive
,” AlQahera News TV reported , close to Egyptian intelligence.
They will continue for
“the next three days”
, indicated the same source.
Read alsoMiddle East: Israel seeking a truce with Hamas
An official from the Hamas political bureau, Khalil al-Hayya, will lead a delegation to Cairo to meet the heads of the Egyptian and Qatari intelligence services, probably on Wednesday, a source within the Islamist movement told AFP. power in Gaza since 2007.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of the most critical leaders of the Israeli operation, will also be received in Cairo on Wednesday by his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, his first visit to Egypt after a decade of estrangement.
Mr. Erdogan explained this trip to this country, as well as previously to the United Arab Emirates, by his concern to
“stop the bloodshed”
in Gaza.
“We are working intensively with Egypt and Qatar on a proposal for the release of the hostages
,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday evening in Washington.
Expectation of an offensive on Rafah
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently ordered the Israeli army to prepare an offensive on Rafah, which he said is the
“last bastion”
of Hamas.
Around 1.4 million Palestinians, according to the UN, more than half of Gaza's population, are massed in this city, trapped on the closed border with Egypt, most having fled the war that has raged since four months in the territory besieged by Israel.
Read alsoGaza: in Rafah, the Israeli army faces the prospect of a final high-risk assault
“Military operations in Rafah could lead to a massacre in Gaza
,” warned the head of UN humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths, on Tuesday, calling on Israel not to “continue to ignore” the appeals of the international community.
The Hamas government's Health Ministry reported Wednesday that 104 people died overnight in Israeli attacks, mostly women and children.
Despite numerous international warnings, Benjamin Netanyahu said he was determined to continue
“military pressure until complete victory”
over Hamas, and the release of the hostages.
He nevertheless assured Sunday that Israel would open
“a secure passage”
to the population to leave Rafah, without specifying to which destination.
The international community calls for sparing civilians
The United States, Israel's main ally, opposes an offensive without guarantees for the security of civilians.
President Joe Biden called on Israel for a
“credible”
plan to spare the population.
China also urged Israel on Tuesday to stop its military operation in Rafah
“as quickly as possible”
.
Germany called on Israel to guarantee safe passages for the protection of civilians in Rafah, where two Al Jazeera journalists were seriously injured in an Israeli strike, according to the Qatari channel.
Israel hunts down Yahya Sinouar
The Israeli army released a video on Tuesday showing, according to it, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinouar, in a tunnel on October 10, three days after the start of the war.
The
“hunt”
for the alleged mastermind of the October 7 attack
“will not stop until we have captured him dead or alive
,” said Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari, emphasizing de facto that he had managed to escape it for four months.
Proposal to create 15 refugee camps in the southwest of the Gaza Strip
According to the
Wall Street Journal
, Israel would propose to create 15 vast camps of 25,000 tents each in the southwest of the Gaza Strip, as part of an evacuation plan.
Rafah, which has become a gigantic encampment, is the main entry point for humanitarian aid into Gaza, insufficient to meet the needs of the population who live in
“conditions close to famine”
, according to the World Food Program (WFP) .