The deal was a small one: 50 hostages for a three-day truce. But the parties involved did not understand each other, which led the mediators to lose faith in the process.
The parties involved in the negotiations surrounding the more than two hundred hostages held by Hamas somewhere in Gaza said on Wednesday that an agreement had not yet been reached among all. The deal is already a simplified version of a broader agreement that is on the horizon for some of those involved – but, despite the discussions, only the exchange of 50 hostages for a ceasefire (or humanitarian pause, wars). There are fights with discourses) for three days, he is now even further away.
According to the Israeli press, Hamas has suddenly shown little interest in the deal, after the IDF attacked al-Shifa hospital – which, according to official military sources – is now in full possession of Israeli forces. The World Health Organization and several countries have already condemned the military operation, which appears to have occurred first with a chokehold on its operations (with blackouts) and then with armed robbery.
With negotiations stalled, Egypt has sought to respond to more dramatic situations — or at least the enclave’s proximity to the border. The United Nations agency UNRWA said it received about 23,000 liters of fuel via Egypt, but recalled that that was only 9% of what the organization says it needs to sustain daily operations.
However, another side effect of Israel’s actions in Gaza is a chilling of the ongoing relations between the Israeli state and countries with which it maintains (more or less) friendly relations. Turkey is one of these cases. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called Israel a “terrorist state” that is committing war crimes in Gaza and violating international law. And he reiterated that Hamas is the political party chosen by the Palestinians. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen responded that “those who promote terrorist groups” cannot advise Israel.
Turkey and Israel have always had a relationship that goes through some periods of relaxation, interspersed with others, in which tension prevails. The period before 7th October is one of the ‘good’ times. But the recent attacks on the Israeli reaction after the Erdogan attack have turned all that aside. In this context, and after his minister, Netanyahu also responded to the words of the Turkish president, saying that a politician who persecutes Turks on his own territory (referring to the Kurds) does not have to advise any country.
The reaction of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, one of the first Western leaders to align himself with Israel since October 7, was highly unexpected, but this Wednesday showed sensitivity to the plight of the Palestinians. He demanded that Israel stop the “slaughter of women, children, children” in the Gaza Strip. “The price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian citizens,” he said, adding, “Even wars have rules. All innocent lives are of equal value – Israeli and Palestinian,” he said.
Like Erdogan, and according to the Israeli press, Benjamin Netanyahu has already rejected his Canadian counterpart’s statements. In response to Trudeau, Netanyahu said, “It is not Israel that deliberately attacks civilians, but Hamas that beheads, burns and slaughters civilians in the worst atrocities committed against Jews since the Holocaust.” “While Israel makes every effort to keep civilians out of harm’s way, Hamas does everything to keep them in harm’s way,” Netanyahu wrote. “Israel provides humanitarian corridors and safe zones for civilians in Gaza, preventing Hamas from leaving at gunpoint. It is not Israel that is responsible for committing a double war crime, it is Hamas – hiding behind civilians and attacking civilians,” he said.
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