Latest round of Gaza talks at risk of collapse
Aug 15, 2024
Gaza [Palestine], Despite Hamas ' response , the US said that the negotiation efforts are still going ahead as planned, and that Israel is still sending a delegation to Qatar. However, Axios reported that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed his trip to the Middle East, which was supposed to begin on August 13.
Reuters quoted three senior officials of the Tehran government as saying that only a ceasefire in Gaza would be enough to convince Iran to stop retaliating against Israel following the assassination of the late Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran late last month. In the latest effort, US President Joe Biden yesterday sent special envoy Amos Hochstein to Beirut (Lebanon) to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to discuss the situation in the region.
On the same day, the Washington administration announced that it had approved a deal worth more than $20 billion to transfer weapons to Tel Aviv, after Iran refused to stop its plan to retaliate against Israel. The bulk of the deal, $18.82 billion, was for 50 F-15 fighters , allowing Israel to upgrade its fleet and equip it with radar and telecommunications equipment.
In another development, the Israeli military announced that it had carried out airstrikes against Palestinian militant groups in the West Bank. For its part, Hamas said its gunmen had engaged in fierce fighting with Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Tubas.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
