image source, EPA
“A quarter of Gaza’s population is on the brink of famine.”
We begin our tour of the newspapers, with a report published by the British newspaper The Guardian, about the latest developments in the war on Gaza, where it said that Israeli negotiators are likely to arrive in Doha, on Sunday, amid intensified efforts to achieve a ceasefire – at least temporarily -.
Citing what it described as sources close to Hamas, the newspaper says that the movement’s leaders now realize the need to highlight a “major victory” for the Palestinians in order to spare them a popular reaction after the massive destruction and loss of life during five months of war.
She adds that Israeli officials now believe that the deputy military commander of Hamas in Gaza, Marwan Issa, was killed in an air strike a week ago. The article states that, as a result of the Israeli operation, all communications systems for senior Hamas leaders – which rely on applications and encrypted correspondence – stopped for more than 72 hours after the raid, as happened on several previous occasions when senior Hamas leaders were killed, according to the newspaper.
Experts told the Guardian that the strike targeting Issa, one of the main organizers of the attack launched by Hamas on Israel on October 7, indicates that Israel is obtaining its information from a high-ranking source in the movement.
The newspaper quotes sources in contact with the movement and analysts as saying that the negotiations created a division among Hamas leaders in Gaza and its leaders abroad, with Hugh Lovatt of the European Council on Foreign Relations saying that the disagreement within the movement was usual, but it is clear that it has worsened since October.
According to the newspaper, Hamas’s political leadership outside Gaza is carefully considering what comes after any ceasefire, and it is possible that it would accept a plan under which the Palestinian Authority – which partially rules the occupied West Bank – would assume the administration of the Gaza Strip after the war as part of a broader Palestinian political agreement, but Lovatt commented. On the subject, the political wing cannot act without the approval of the leadership in Gaza, considering that they are “in control because they are present on the ground.”
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Israeli tanks move along Salah al-Din Road in the central Gaza Strip
To Arabi 21 newspaper, which published an article by writer Ali Bakir under the title “Washington’s goal of establishing the temporary port in Gaza,” commenting on the sea pier intended to be built on the banks of Gaza, saying that the American initiative sparked widespread criticism and raised questions about its timing, content, and true goals.
Baker says in his article: “In terms of timing, this initiative comes in light of the increasing popular pressure within the United States on President Biden for his unlimited support for Israel, and the genocide crimes committed by Israel under the leadership of Netanyahu, which fundamentally affects his chances in the presidential elections scheduled to be held in November.” “Next.”
He adds that if Washington really wanted to help, it could have put pressure on Israel by stopping financial and military aid to it instead of claiming weakness and lack of options.
Bakir criticized what he called “American duplicity,” which is causing “the erosion of the credibility of its arguments regarding the port. So why resort to a process that includes building a port at a time when aid trucks are piling up at the land crossing with Gaza?”
He adds in his article that the United States appears to be using the naval platform to buy time for Israel to continue its military campaign, explaining that Washington has used its veto power on more than one occasion to disrupt diplomatic efforts to cease fire.
From a geopolitical standpoint, Bakir says, there are those who see the initiative as an attempt to completely close in on Gaza by bypassing the land crossing and the supposed Egyptian role, and this will lead to ending Gaza’s dependence on the crossing with Egypt economically, politically, and perhaps militarily as well and facilitating the displacement of Palestinians across the sea, according to What was published in his article.
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Trucks carrying humanitarian aid waiting to cross from the southern Gaza Strip to the northern Gaza Strip
To the American newspaper NBC News, which said in a report that Israel is considering using private security contractors to protect aid shipments to Gaza, according to what we tell a former American official and two current officials.
She adds that Israeli officials raised the idea in recent weeks with senior officials from the Biden administration, and that the Israeli government has already contacted several security companies, but it refused to identify those companies, and while the Israeli government refused to comment, neither the White House nor the US State Department responded to requests to comment on the matter. The matter, according to the newspaper.
A senior official in the US administration says that transporting aid via trucks to Gaza is the most effective method, while the newspaper attributed the difficulty of delivering aid by land – despite an American request – to the Israeli army’s refusal to allow it to enter and the lack of order inside the Strip.
The newspaper also commented on the White House’s announcement that the United States would provide a sea corridor to deliver aid to Gaza, and quoted sources as saying that the announcement surprised American military officials, especially since a week after it had passed, the Pentagon does not yet have a complete plan for how to implement the American operation, including Details about who will provide security on the beach, while the US military confirms that US forces will not set foot on the ground in Gaza to provide security.
Who will distribute the food?
The other unanswered question, according to the newspaper, is who will distribute aid to Palestinian civilians once it reaches the shore, with about a quarter of Gaza’s population of 2.2 million people on the brink of famine, according to the United Nations.
image source, EPA
A ship transporting humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza
The newspaper adds that the United States is considering using security service providers from the local population in Gaza to help distribute aid, according to American officials.
Although the identity of the potential security providers has not been clarified, NBC News says that American officials see groups and factions in Gaza separate from Hamas that could provide assistance, in the hope that this will send a message to Hamas not to interfere with aid, according to the newspaper.
The report concludes by noting the participation of the European Union, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, the Republic of Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States in various aspects of the maritime effort, including inspections and financial support.
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