International
Netanyahu tells Blinken that he remains “firm” in his demands on Hamas for a truce
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Monday to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he will remain “firm” in the negotiations of a ceasefire with the Islamist group Hamas so as not to give in to the “security needs of Israel.”
Netanyahu spoke for about three hours with Blinken in Jerusalem, in a meeting that “was positive and conducted in a good spirit,” according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
The Israeli president “reiterated Israel’s commitment to the latest US proposal (ceasefire agreement) on the release of the kidnapped, which takes into account Israel’s security needs, in which he stands firm,” the statement added without giving further details.
Blinken arrived in Israel on Sunday for a ninth visit since the outbreak of the war on October 7, with the aim of promoting a ceasefire agreement that includes the release of the 111 Israeli hostages that Hamas keeps kidnapped in Gaza (of which at least 39 have died), as well as the massive entry of humanitarian aid into the devastated Strip.
Netanyahu – whom many in his own country accuse of torpedoing the negotiations with new demands and putting his political interests first – made it clear on Sunday that Israel is “negotiating, not giving in” to Hamas.
The Israeli leader urged the mediating countries – the United States, Qatar and Egypt – to put pressure on Hamas and not Israel, and reiterated his firmness on two central points: not to cease the military offensive until the Islamist group is dismantled and not to withdraw its troops from the strategic Philadelphia Corridor, which covers the entire border line between Gaza and Egypt.
Israel’s negotiating team met over the weekend with the mediators in Doha, an appointment that Hamas did not attend, demanding that, instead of new negotiations, what had already been agreed in previous months be applied based on a proposal by US President Joe Biden.
“The new proposal” that emerged after the meeting in Doha “responds to the conditions imposed by Netanyahu and is consistent with them,” Hamas lamented on Sunday, rejecting what was agreed in Qatar.
The Islamist group criticizes that the new proposal does not include a definitive ceasefire or the integral withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, and that it agrees to Netanyahu’s “insistence” that the Israeli Army continue to control the Netzarim crossing (which connects the north with the south of the Strip), the border crossing of the Gaza city of Rafah (with Egypt) and the Philadelphia Corridor.
Hamas claims to have accepted on July 2 what President Biden proposed, while Israel claims to have done the same without adding new demands, but “clarifications.”
While Washington estimates that the agreement could be reached as soon as next week, Netanyahu would have told his ministers that “the chances are not high,” according to public radio Kan.
The war broke out on October 7 of last year with a Hamas attack on Israel that left about 1,200 dead and 251 kidnapped.
Blinken, for his part, said that the latest proposed agreement for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas may be “the last chance” to rescue the hundred Israeli hostages who still remain in the Gaza Strip.
“It is a decisive moment, probably the best and perhaps the last opportunity to return the kidnapped home, to achieve a ceasefire,” the American said at the beginning of a meeting in Tel Aviv with the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog.
The head of US diplomacy made it clear that his country wants a pact as soon as possible, and highlighted the deployment of US forces in the region to try to dissuade Iran and the Lebanese group Hizbulah from attacking Israel, which could put the negotiations at risk.
The Israeli president, for his part, thanked the United States for their support and the other mediating countries, Egypt and Qatar, for their efforts to achieve a ceasefire agreement that will allow the hostages to be released.
“There is no greater humanitarian objective, nor greater humanitarian cause than bringing back the hostages,” Herzog said.
Iran assured that it supports the negotiations between Israel and its ally Hamas to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, despite its differences with the United States and considers that Tel Aviv does not want a truce.
Despite the negotiating momentum, the Israeli offensive in Gaza continues, and this Sunday the troops extended their operations to parts of Jan Yunis (south) and, for the first time, the town of Deir al Balah (center), where thousands of Gazans have taken refuge since the offensive against Rafah, the southernmost town in Gaza, began.
The Israeli Army continued to attack a devastated Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours, where after ten months of offensive 40,139 people have already died, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health of the enclave, controlled by the Islamist group Hamas.
Meanwhile, at least two people were killed on Monday by the bombing of an Israeli drone against the Houla area, in southern Lebanon, amid an increase in selective attacks by the Jewish State and renewed fears of an open war in Lebanese territory.
A 45-year-old Israeli soldier, identified by military sources as Mahmud Amaria, died on Monday morning in a drone attack in the region of western Galilee, northern Israel, perpetrated by the Lebanese Shiite militia Hizbulah.
In addition, the Israeli authorities confirmed that an explosion recorded last night in Tel Aviv, which claimed the life of the suspect who was carrying the device and injured another person, was part of a failed attempt at a terrorist attack.
The armed wing of the Islamist group Hamas claimed the act, according to a message on Telegram, which it said it had perpetrated in collaboration with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
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