The mutual assaults with jet fighters and missiles as well as rockers between Hamas and Israel are expected to end this Friday afternoon local time.
By
Musthafa Abd Rahman from Cairo, Egypt
·6 minutes read
AFP/MAHMUD HAMS
A rocket is launched towards Israel from Gaza City, controlled by the Palestinian Hamas movement, on May 20, 2021 - Israel and the Palestinians are mired in their worst conflict in years as Israel pounds the Gaza Strip with air strikes and artillery, while Hamas militants fire rockets into the Jewish state.
After an 11-day battle that claimed hundreds of lives and caused infrastructure damage, Hamas and Israel were prepared to begin a cease-fire as of this Friday afternoon local time.
CAIRO, KOMPAS — The attempt to realize a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and Israel, which started earlier this week, has indicated progress. Various Arab and Israeli media like Asharq al-Awsat daily, Al Arabiya television, Israeli television Channel 12, on Thursday (20/5/2021) reported that a cease-fire was expected Friday afternoon local time, regardless of whether it would be officially announced or executed without an official announcement.
Israel was seemingly racing with time on the days approaching the cease-fire by launching airstrikes on different areas in the Gaza Strip. The strikes occurred after Wednesday midnight over a dozen times. The radio station owned by Hamas reported that a woman died and four children were wounded as a result of the strike in Khan Younis city, southern Gaza.
“We were sitting on a sofa when a missile landed. Thick smoke was billowing and we couldn’t see anything,” related Amira Esleem, 14, on the outskirts of Sabra, Gaza City.
She said several parts of her house had collapsed. Amira and her three family members sustained wounds. Within the 11-day battle starting on 10 May, almost 450 buildings in Gaza were ruined or heavily damaged, including 6 hospitals and 9 main health service centers. More than 52,000 people in Gaza evacuated from their homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the pressure of U.S. President Joe Biden, who wanted a “significant de-escalation” on Wednesday.
Israeli television Channel 13 stated that Israel would escalate its attacks on Gaza Strip before the announcement of a cease-fire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the pressure of U.S. President Joe Biden, who wanted a “significant de-escalation” on Wednesday. He was determined “to continue the operation until his goal was achieved”.
Palestine factions, particularly Hamas, on Thursday mounted counterattacks by firing rockets at Beersheba city (around 41 kilometers east of Gaza City) and Ashkelon (21 kilometers north of Gaza City). No casualties or damage were reported in Israel.
The Palestine-Israeli armed conflict broke out on 10 May when Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem following a clash between Palestinians and Israeli police at Al Aqsa Mosque in the month of Ramadan and Israel’s plan to evict Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah District, East Jerusalem.
AFP/AHMAD GHARABLI
Mourners raise a Palestinian flag during the funeral of Mohammad Kiwan, a 17-year-old Palestinian who succumbed to his wounds after being shot during confrontations with Israeli troops last week, in the mostly Arab city of Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel, on May 20, 2021. - Israel and the Palestinians are mired in their worst conflict in years as Israel pounds the Gaza Strip with air strikes and artillery, while Hamas militants fire rockets into the Jewish state.
Health officials in Gaza said as of Thursday at least 230 Palestine residents—including 65 children and 39 women—had been killed and over 1,700 others wounded. Israeli authorities reported that 12 people in Israel—including a child and a soldier—had died and 336 others treated for injuries.
As of Friday afternoon
The mutual assaults with jet fighters and missiles as well as rockers between Hamas and Israel are expected to end this Friday afternoon local time. Quoting Egyptian security officials, Asharq al-Awsat indicated that both parties had in principle agreed to a cease-fire in two phases starting Friday afternoon.
The first phase of the cease-fire will begin on Friday afternoon before the Sabbath, the Jewish holiday starting after sunset on Friday. The second phase will see the start of a Hamas-Israel negotiation with Egyptian and U.S. mediation, which is to be later scheduled on the basis of both sides’ compromise in the cease-fire implementation.
Israel among others wants to secure a long-term cease-fire in Gaza Strip, like its cease-fire with Hezbollah in the Lebanese war of 2006. Since then, there has been no more major battle between Israel and the faction in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Hamas and Jihad Islami demand that Israel make no more provocation in the complex of Al Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah District in return for the ceasefire.
Al Arabiya television, based in Dubai, also confirmed that a draft cease-fire accord between Hamas and Israel had been approved in principle.
“I think the cease-fire mediation will succeed. The formula is clear, if they ease off (attacks), we will also slacken. If they discontinue their strikes on Gaza, we will also halt our shots at Tel Aviv,” said Deputy Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Mosa Mohammed Abu Marzook.
AFP/NICHOLAS KAMM
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the Middle East in the Cross Hall of the White House, in Washington, DC on May 20, 2021. - Israel and the two main Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, announced a ceasefire on May 20, 2021 aimed to end the most devastating conflict between them for seven years.
Israeli television, Kan and Channel 12, quoting military and political officials of Israel, reported that there was no ceasefire before Friday. Israel’s mini cabinet of political and security affairs was slated to convene an emergency meeting on Thursday at 19.00 local time or 24.00 West Indonesia Time to discuss the ceasefire.
In New York, the U.S. and the U.N. General Assembly held a meeting to discuss the situation in Palestine and Israel.
Over the last week, various regional and international forces like the U.N., the U.S., Russia, China, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have exerted pressure on Hamas and Israel in order to reach a ceasefire agreement. In New York, the U.S. and the U.N. General Assembly held a meeting to discuss the situation in Palestine and Israel.
“I’ve been shocked by the continuing airstrikes and artillery barrage by the Israeli Armed Forces in Gaza,” said Antonio Guterres, the U.N. Secretary General, in his speech. “The indiscriminate firing of rockets by Hamas and other groups can’t be justified either.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi attended the U.N. General Assembly meeting. Arriving in New York on Wednesday, Retno met with U.N. General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir and the U.N. Security Council President now held by China. She was scheduled to meet with Guterres and her counterparts from Turkey, Palestine, Kuwait and the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan.
“We should remain committed and unified in opposing the illegal action of Israel (for the sake of) ending the occupation of Palestine. We should act now, together, the United Nations should act now,” said Retno in her speech at the U.N. General Assembly session on Thursday.
She urged a cease-fire, discontinuation of violence and humanitarian access in Palestine. Retno encouraged negotiations between all disputing sides in Palestine with the facilitation of trusted parties.
In three sessions dealing with the Palestine-Israeli issue, the U.N. Security Council failed to announce a statement due to U.S. vetoes. France also proposed a cease-fire draft resolution but was again thwarted by the U.S.
Rights Council Meeting
Separately, the U.N. Human Rights Council announced it would convene a special meeting to discuss the situation in Palestine. The session slated for Thursday (27/5) will examine “the terrible human rights situation of the occupation zone of Palestine, including East Jerusalem”. This session is organized at the request of Pakistan as coordinator of the Islamic Cooperation Organization and the authority of Palestine.
AFP/MAHMUD HAMS
An excavator clears the rubble of a destroyed building in Gaza City\'s Rimal residential district on May 16, 2021, following massive Israeli bombardment on the Hamas-controlled enclave. - Israeli strikes killed 40 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the worst reported daily death toll yet in the almost week-long clashes, as the UN Security Council prepared to meet amid global alarm at the escalating conflict.
The U.N. Human Rights Council meeting will deliberate the possibility of war crime violations in the battle of Gaza. Amnesty International has recorded several attacks on civilian houses in Gaza Strip by Israel without prior notice, as among war crimes. Amnesty will request the international criminal tribunal to try Israeli military officials on charges of a war crime.(AFP/AP/REUTERS/RAZ/ SAM)
