Gaza: Board of Peace calls on Netanyahu to halt the attacks
Israel has expressed its “concerns” to Washington regarding Trump’s announced plan to disarm the Islamist movement
After initially criticising it, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad is reported to have agreed to proceed with Phase 2 of Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, beginning the process of disarmament, according to a source within the militia quoted by the Saudi TV channel Al Arabiya. However, this does not yet resolve the main sticking points holding the plan up: first and foremost, whether the start of the IDF’s withdrawal and the end of raids on Gaza are preconditions for the disarmament of all Palestinian militias – as might be inferred from the roadmap published by the Board of Peace – or the other way round, as stated by Trump in his triumphant post on Truth, in which he announced a ‘historic agreement’ on 30 July.
Hamas: Israel’s escalation in Gaza aims to thwart agreements
Against this backdrop, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported yesterday, citing medical sources, that 14 Palestinians, including four children, had been killed following Israeli raids in the al-Rimal neighbourhood of Gaza City. In response to Israel’s “deliberate escalation” in Gaza, Hamas explained that the IDF’s aim is to “hinder the agreements reached with mediators, including the US administration, to complete the implementation of the ceasefire agreement”.
According to Al Jazeera, the fundamentalist group claimed that Israel’s “criminal and frenzied bombardment of the Gaza Strip” had wiped out “entire families” and called on mediators to “take immediate action to put pressure” on Tel Aviv to cease its crimes. Israeli forces have bombed Gaza in recent hours, killing at least 19 Palestinians, according to local authorities.
Board of Peace calls on Netanyahu to halt the attacks
The death toll among Palestinians has prompted Nickolay Mladenov, the diplomat heading the Board of Peace, and his adviser Aryeh Lightstone to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel to urge him to halt the attacks on Gaza, in line with the commitment Israel made as part of the peace plan. This was reported by the news website Axios, citing a well-informed source. Last Thursday, US President Donald Trump had stated that an agreement had been reached on the complete disarmament of the Palestinian movement Hamas and other groups in the Gaza Strip.The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had made it clear that Israel would not withdraw its troops from the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip until Hamas had been disarmed and the Strip had been demilitarised.
Netanyahu’s office raised concerns with the US over the Hamas disarmament plan
