Calls to end the Gaza ‘bloodbath’ emerge after an Israeli attack kills 274 Palestinians

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said reports from Gaza of another massacre of civilians were horrific. We condemn this in the strongest terms.  Borrell wrote on his X platform account: The bloodbath must end immediately. He added: President Biden’s 3-stage plan is the way forward for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the fighting.

First scenes of the released Israeli prisoner:

Israel, in cooperation with the United States, carried out an operation in the Nuseirat camp in the Gaza Strip to free hostages held in the Strip and was able to free four people. The operation was accompanied by violent air, land, and sea bombardment, causing dozens of civilian deaths and injuries.

In the coming hours, Cairo will host a new round of indirect negotiations to reach a calm in Gaza. At the same time, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid will visit the United States to hold talks with senior officials amid escalating tension between the governments of the two countries regarding Israel’s way of managing the war.

Lapid is scheduled to meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who last month called for early elections in Israel to give voters a chance to get rid of Netanyahu, whom he described as one of the main obstacles to peace.

Regarding the Cairo talks, a high-level Egyptian source said that the discussions will be held with the participation of the head of US intelligence, the Qatari prime minister and foreign minister, and the Israeli delegation. 

What is striking about this round is the amount of pressure exerted by the United States and the mediators on Hamas and Israel in a new attempt to break the stalemate, harden positions, and bridge the gap that led many previous rounds toward failure while they are still far from the chances of achieving a breakthrough, given the calculations of each party.

The Hamas movement, which announced the participation of its delegation, headed by Khalil al-Hayya, in the Cairo negotiations, stressed its adherence to its position announced on the fourteenth of last month, which was based on four conditions:

• Permanent ceasefire.
• Complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
• Bringing aid into all areas of the sector.
• Allowing displaced people to return to their homes.

The Israeli position is still dependent on the decision of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been evasive in the last few hours despite the Mossad chief’s assurances that he must be more flexible.

The conditions revolve around the release of all hostages and the rejection of any talk of a complete ceasefire. The calculations of the war cannot be separated from the negotiating table, as the calculations of both parties are looking for a resolution on the ground or a political victory at the expense of the people of Gaza. Calculations that prolonged the war and led to an Israeli attack on Rafah. Hamas’s bets have so far failed to remove the specter of its occurrence.