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On August 16, a Palestinian evacuated from a town northwest of Khan Yunis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip. Xinhua News Agency

The ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip resumed on the 15th in Doha, the capital of Qatar, and were suspended on the 16th. They will resume in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, next week. Regarding this round of ceasefire negotiations, the parties expressed different views: the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) opposed the "new terms" proposed by Israel; Israel asked the mediator to put pressure on Hamas to force it to accept the ceasefire plan; the United States expressed cautious optimism.

　The United States submitted a new proposal

The United States, Qatar and Egypt, mediators of the ceasefire negotiations, issued a joint statement on the 16th saying that the United States submitted a new plan based on the main points of the previous plan. The statement said that this plan would help bridge the differences between Israel and Hamas and help promote the rapid implementation of relevant consensus after the ceasefire agreement was reached.

The parties to this round of ceasefire talks included negotiators from Israel, the United States, Qatar and Egypt. Hamas did not send a representative to the meeting, and the mediator "delivered the message." Hamas expressed opposition to the "new terms" proposed by Israel in this round of negotiations.

According to reports from multiple media outlets, Hamas opposes things like the Israeli military's presence in the "Philadelphia Corridor" bordering the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and the Israeli military's control of a main traffic artery dividing the north and south areas of the Gaza Strip in order to screen whether there are Hamas members among the returning Palestinians.

According to Izzat Reshke, a senior Hamas member, Israel did not "adhere to what was agreed upon in previous rounds of negotiations" as the mediators had claimed.

Biden:

Cease-fire deal 'getting closer'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked mediators to put pressure on Hamas to force it to accept the "multiple principles" in the ceasefire plan proposed by US President Joseph Biden in late May.

In an interview with the media on the 16th of this month, Biden said that compared with before this round of ceasefire negotiations, Israel and Hamas are now "closer" to reaching a ceasefire agreement.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on the 17th that US President Joseph Biden's statement that a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip was "close to being reached" was an "illusion." Zuhri said in a statement sent to AFP: "What we are facing is not an agreement or real negotiations, but an order imposed by the United States."

A U.S. government official said in an interview with reporters that the working groups of the parties involved in the negotiations will continue to advance technical work, and senior officials from all parties will continue to negotiate ceasefire in Cairo "before next weekend."

AFP quoted an unnamed US official as saying that the mediating party had set up an "executive department" in Cairo in advance, which was mainly responsible for logistical coordination of humanitarian aid and other matters to the Gaza Strip.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is confirmed to visit Israel on the 17th. U.S. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said that Blinken's visit is to "continue intensive diplomatic mediation" on the ceasefire agreement and to "emphasize that all parties in the Middle East should avoid escalating the situation" to prevent disruption of the negotiation process.

An Israeli official who wished to remain anonymous confirmed that Brin would definitely meet with Netanyahu on the 19th to discuss a new round of ceasefire negotiations.

　By officials:

Israeli military operations in Gaza 'basically over'

Israel's Public Broadcasting Corporation reported on the evening of the 16th local time, citing a senior IDF official as saying that the Israeli army's operations in the Gaza Strip have "basically ended."

The official said the Israeli army has the ability to re-enter the Gaza Strip after "obtaining new intelligence", but given that the armed forces of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) have been "almost destroyed", the fighting inside the Gaza Strip "has generally ended."

According to the Palestinian News Agency on the 17th, the Israeli army bombed the Zaweida area in the central Gaza Strip that day, killing at least 16 people and injuring dozens.

It was reported that Israeli warplanes bombed a shed and a house in the Zaweida area and the injured had been taken to a hospital in the central Gaza Strip city of Deir al-Balah.

According to data released by the health department of the Gaza Strip on the 15th, since the outbreak of a new round of Israeli-Palestinian conflict in October last year, Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip have caused the deaths of more than 40,000 Palestinians and more than 92,000 injuries.

　　Expert analysis

Zhao Jun, associate professor at the Institute of Middle East Studies, Shanghai International Studies University:

Negotiations may bring pause to conflict

"The absence of Hamas, the main party, means that the negotiations and their results are of little significance." On the 16th, Zhao Jun, associate professor at the Institute of Middle East Studies of Shanghai International Studies University, analyzed to Nandu reporters that the strategic goal of the United States is to prevent the situation in the Middle East from getting out of control before the country's general election. The strategic goal of supporting Israel's victory remains unchanged, and other participants in the negotiations also have their own calculations.

　Negotiation parties have different strategic objectives

"The main goal of this negotiation is ostensibly to bring about a ceasefire, but in reality it is a plan by the mediators such as the United States, Qatar and Egypt, as well as the party concerned, Israel, to suspend the exchange of fire to meet their respective strategic needs." Zhao Jun, associate professor at the Institute of Middle East Studies of Shanghai International Studies University, analyzed to Nandu reporters on August 16.

He believes that the strategic goal of the United States is to prevent the situation in the Middle East from getting out of control before the country's general election, and its strategic goal of supporting Israel's victory remains unchanged; Egypt hopes to create a good external security environment for its own economic development by promoting negotiations, and take the opportunity to enhance its regional political influence; Qatar also wants to enhance its international influence through this meeting; Israel is taking advantage of the situation to back off, on the one hand responding to the United States' request, and on the other hand adjusting its strategy to combat Hamas, but its goal of completely eliminating Hamas remains unchanged.

John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said on the 15th that Qatar and Egypt will convey the content of the talks to Hamas. John Kirby said that the resumption of Gaza ceasefire negotiations in Qatar is "a good start", but he does not expect an agreement to be reached immediately because there is still a lot of work to be done and the negotiations may continue until the 16th. He said that the framework of the ceasefire agreement has been basically agreed upon by all parties, but there are still differences in the implementation of the agreement, and refused to disclose the specific details of the differences.

"The fact that Hamas did not send representatives to participate is itself the main challenge of this negotiation. Moreover, the strategic goals of the participating parties are different, making it difficult to reach a consensus. Even if some consensus is reached, whether the consensus can be implemented is also a challenge," said Zhao Jun.

He believes that the absence of Hamas, the main party, means that the negotiations and their results are of little significance, which means that the negotiations themselves are doomed to fail. "The gap between Hamas and the participating countries such as Qatar and Egypt may widen, and it may lose the support of these two countries."

　Negotiations will not completely resolve conflicts

"This round of negotiations is not about whether an agreement is reached or what the outcome of the negotiations is, but about how to prevent Hamas and Israel from attacking each other with force." Zhao Jun analyzed that this round of negotiations may temporarily stop the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict, especially if Israel suspends its military operations, but the conflict will not stop for a long time or end completely.

In his view, the negotiation results may become the basis for the parties involved in the negotiation to collectively pressure Hamas, but Hamas may not give in. On the other hand, the negotiation results may also bring new challenges to the internal reconciliation of Palestine.

Faced with the grim situation, the international community has also frequently called on all parties to promote a ceasefire and end the war through practical efforts. The Palestinians and Israelis also expressed their hope that the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict will end as soon as possible on the day of the new round of ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip.

"We want to return to our homes. We are people who want to survive. Let them reach an agreement to end all this." A Palestinian displaced person sighed helplessly.

Written by: Southern Metropolis Daily reporter Liang Lingfei and intern Peng Ziqian

Comprehensive Xinhua News Agency