UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – At the same time, Washington called on Hamas to accept “without delay” the proposed truce with Israel associated with the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
Rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah reportedly hold talks in Beijing, Blinken heads to Jordan to discuss humanitarian aid to Gaza… Le Figaro takes stock of the situation.
Israeli offensive in Rafah would represent “intolerable escalation,” says UN chief
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday against an Israeli military offensive in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, which he said would represent a “intolerable escalation”.
“A military assault on Rafah would constitute an intolerable escalation, killing thousands more civilians and forcing hundreds of thousands more to flee”Antonio Guterres told the press, imploring the Israeli authorities not to do so.
Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised on Tuesday that the Israeli army would enter Rafah, a town in the south of the Gaza Strip, whether or not a anticipated truce agreement is concluded with the Islamist movement. Palestinian Hamas. “The idea that we are going to stop the war before we have achieved all of our objectives is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and eliminate the Hamas battalions there, with or without (a truce) agreement, in order to achieve total victory.”declared Mr. Netanyahu, quoted in a press release published by his office, to representatives of families of hostages in Jerusalem.
Mass graves in Gaza: UN chief calls for “independent” investigation
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday “deeply concerned” by the discovery of mass graves in the two main hospitals in the Gaza Strip and called for an independent investigation.
“It is imperative that independent international investigators… be allowed immediate access to the sites to determine the exact circumstances in which Palestinians lost their lives and were buried or reburied”did he declare.
Blinken calls on Hamas to accept truce proposal “without further delay”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called on Hamas to accept “without delay” the proposed truce with Israel associated with a release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, which the Palestinian movement claims to be studying.
“No more delays, no more excuses. Now is the time to act”Antony Blinken told reporters in Jordan shortly before his departure for Israel as part of his seventh regional tour since the start of the war almost seven months ago.
French Foreign Minister visits Israel
The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, spoke on Tuesday with his Israeli counterpart Israel Katz, as part of a 24-hour visit to Israel, noted an AFP journalist. The visit of Stéphane Séjourné, who had previously stopped in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, comes at a time when long-term Qatari, Egyptian and American mediation is raising hopes of a truce between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, associated with the release of hostages, after nearly seven months of fighting and almost daily bombings in the Gaza Strip.
In Israel, discussions with Mr. Katz focused on the volume of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip, as well as the military offensive in Rafah, the necessity of which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed on Tuesday, but to which France repeats its opposition. According to a diplomatic source, Stéphane Séjourné reaffirmed Tuesday “the support” from France to Israel but also “his disagreements”in particular on this planned major offensive in the city of Rafah, which has become a refuge for 1.5 million Palestinians displaced by the war, according to the UN.
China says rival Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah held talks in Beijing
China announced Tuesday that Hamas and Fatah, two rival Palestinian groups that have been at war with each other for many years, held peace talks in Beijing.
“At the invitation of China, representatives of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah, Editor’s note) and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas, Editor’s note) recently visited Beijing for in-depth and frank discussions on the promotion of intra-Palestinian reconciliation”said Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
“The two sides fully expressed their political will to achieve reconciliation through dialogue and consultation, discussed many specific issues and made progress”he stressed during a regular press conference.
Blinken visits Jordan to discuss humanitarian aid to Gaza
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to Jordan on Tuesday to discuss ways to increase humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and quietly thank the kingdom for its assistance during the unprecedented Iranian attack on Israel in mid-April.
He flew to Amman in the morning after meeting with leaders of Gulf Arab countries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of his seventh tour of the region since October 7.
In Jordan, the head of American diplomacy is due to meet King Abdullah II and his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, as well as Sigrid Kaag, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the Gaza Strip.