The AFP reported on Monday, August 12th, that Britain, France, and Germany have jointly called for Israel and Hamas to cease fighting “without delay.” The statement came one day after Hamas called for a return to negotiations on the ceasefire plan proposed by US President Joe Biden, instead of continuing hostilities. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated in their joint statement that “the fighting must stop now, and all the guarantees still under Hamas control must be released.” They emphasized that “the people in Gaza need urgent and unimpeded assistance and cannot afford any further delays.”
The mediators between Israel and Hamas have invited both parties to return to the negotiating table regarding the ceasefire agreement and the release of the long-demanded detainees. Following the fighting in Gaza and the assassination of armed group leaders who support Iran, fears of wider conflict have been raised. Israel has accepted invitations from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt to participate in the planned round of negotiations on Thursday. Hamas stated on Sunday that they want to see the implementation of the ceasefire plan proposed by Biden on May 31st and subsequently endorsed by the UN Security Council. Instead of further negotiations or presenting new proposals, Hamas called for the mediators to present an implementation plan following the vision of Biden and the decision of the UN Security Council, and to compel Israel to comply.
The proposed plan includes three stages towards a sustainable ceasefire and the release of all detainees. The first stage, or the first six weeks, will involve a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from all residential areas in Gaza, and the release of a certain number of detainees, including women, elderly, and injured persons, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. If both parties agree, they will enter into negotiations for a permanent ceasefire, which will include the release of all detainees and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third stage will involve a collaborative effort to develop a comprehensive reconstruction plan for Gaza, including the repatriation of deceased detainees back to their homeland.
In a recent development, Hamas has appointed Yahya Sinwar as the leader of the group in Gaza, replacing Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader and peace negotiator who was assassinated on July 31st in Tehran by an attack blamed on Israel. Israel has denied responsibility for the assassination of Haniyeh, which occurred just hours after the covert killing of the military chief of the Hamas group in Lebanon, sparking intense diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation of conflict in the region. Israel was also provoked by an air attack by Iran on Saturday, which resulted in the deaths of 93 people at a local school serving as a shelter for indigenous Palestinians.
Officials in Gaza stated that they have identified the identities of 75 Palestinians who died in the aforementioned attack, while Israeli forces have explained that the operation aimed to target the command and control center of Hamas, embedded in the Al-Tabbin School in Gaza City. They announced that at least 19 members of Hamas and terrorist groups Hizbullah, Hamas, and other allied groups in the region have been eliminated. Iran, Hamas, Hizbullah, and other terrorist groups have declared that they will retaliate against Israel for the killing of Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr, the latest military chief of Hizbullah. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has ordered naval, air, and submarine forces to install the ‘USS George’ missile defense shield and expedite their deployment to the Middle East region to respond to intensified attacks after receiving news that Iran plans to attack Israel this week. Meanwhile, Israel has announced a new evacuation in the UN’s Gaza Strip, the southern underbelly of Gaza, which has been affected by bombings and fighting for several months. Reports from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) indicate that more than 75,000 people have been displaced from the southern western region of Gaza, where the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City is located, in the past few days.