Positive mixed with negative
Israeli forces withdrew from a key corridor in the Gaza Strip on Monday as part of Israel's commitments under a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, AP reported.
A day earlier, Hamas announced that it had returned three Israeli hostages, and Tel Aviv had also begun releasing dozens of Palestinians in the latest phase of a ceasefire aimed at ending the war in Gaza. Under the first phase of the deal, which will last 42 days from January 19, Hamas will gradually return 33 of the 96 Israeli hostages it is holding.
Gaza Strip devastated after months of conflict
However, along with the positive developments, AFP on February 9 quoted Mr. Basem Naim, a Hamas official, warning that the ceasefire agreement was in "danger" and could collapse. In fact, on the same day, February 9, international media quoted several sources saying that Israeli forces had just raided a village in the West Bank. The consequences of the incident were unclear, but Israeli forces also conducted another raid in the West Bank, killing a young man and a pregnant Palestinian woman. The woman's unborn child also died along with her mother.
The violent developments in the West Bank that have taken a toll on Palestinians pose a risk that tensions between Palestinians and Israelis could rise again.
Pressure from many directions
Regarding the Gaza issue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just sent a delegation to Qatar - the country that is playing an important role in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas. However, the Tel Aviv delegation this time only includes low-level officials, raising speculation that the results of the work are unlikely to achieve a breakthrough in extending the ceasefire agreement between the two sides. Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to convene a meeting of key members of the cabinet to discuss the upcoming phase of the ceasefire agreement. This will be a big challenge for the agreement.
According to the plan, the next phase of the agreement that the two sides are about to negotiate will include the condition that Israel withdraws all its troops from the Gaza Strip. However, Israel still emphasizes that it will not agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza until it completely disarms Hamas' military and political capabilities. In contrast, Hamas affirms that it will not hand over the last hostages until Israel withdraws all its troops from Gaza.
In such a context, Prime Minister Netanyahu is under heavy pressure from his far-right political allies to destroy Hamas forces as well as to want the Israeli hostages to return home sooner. The pressure on Netanyahu became even greater after the three hostages were returned by Hamas on February 8 in very bad condition, causing shock and anger among the Israeli public.
Not only that, US President Donald Trump's "initiative" during his recent meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu at the White House continued to heat up the situation in the region. Specifically, Mr. Trump's proposal to remove all Palestinians from Gaza to turn it into a resort area has met with strong criticism in the region. King Abdullah II of Jordan emphasized that the above proposal could be considered "ethnic cleansing in Gaza" and this could incite a new generation of Palestinian resistance and cause further regional turmoil.
Commenting on the above proposal, expert Jon Alterman, Director of Middle East Studies, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS, USA), commented that this could be a "trick" of Mr. Trump to push the responsibility to leaders in the region to find ways to propose new solutions for Gaza to avoid tensions. However, this goal may be difficult to realize, while the tensions that have broken out are quite clear.
Iran "ready to negotiate" with the US
According to AFP, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media on February 8 that the country is ready to negotiate with the US. However, he also emphasized: "To lift sanctions, the two sides need to negotiate, but not within the framework of the policy of "maximum pressure", because if so, it will not be a negotiation but a form of surrender."
Previously, on February 4, US President Donald Trump announced that he would "put maximum pressure" on Iran.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hoa-binh-gaza-truoc-cac-thach-thuc-moi-185250209213747779.htm
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