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Israeli Prime Minister denies any "deal" is possible, Hamas accuses US of using negotiations for propaganda

2024-08-24

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Beijing, August 24 (China News Service) Comprehensive news: On August 23, local time, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said when meeting with the families of the hostages that there is no "agreement that can be reached" yet. On the same day, officials of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) accused the United States of using reports on ceasefire negotiations to promote the campaign of US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Harris.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu and his wife met with the families of a group of Israeli hostages held by Hamas on the 23rd. Some families asked Netanyahu to reach an agreement as soon as possible to release the hostages. In response, Netanyahu said that any claim that an agreement is ready and cannot be reached due to Israel is a lie.

Netanyahu said he was working to achieve a deal that would free the maximum number of hostages, but Hamas was obstructing it out of its own interests.

On the 22nd, the Israeli delegation went to Cairo, the capital of Egypt, to discuss the "Philadelphia Corridor" and other issues with the Egyptian and American delegations. There are reports that the Israeli delegation is considering deploying international forces in the "Philadelphia Corridor" and the Israeli army will gradually withdraw. However, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office immediately denied the report.

John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the White House National Security Council, said on the 23rd that the Cairo ceasefire negotiations were constructive and will continue over the weekend.

The Times of Israel reported that senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the United States is trying to boost Harris' campaign by spreading positive messages about the Gaza negotiations. He said Hamas is demanding the implementation of various measures that have been agreed upon by all parties before, rather than continuing negotiations.

According to the Associated Press, Harris said in a speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention on the evening of the 22nd that she is working with US President Biden to promote a ceasefire agreement, which is also an important step in realizing the rights of the Palestinians.

According to Reuters, a document released by the International Criminal Court on the 23rd showed that the court's prosecutor Karim Khan urged judges to issue arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders as soon as possible.

In May this year, Karim Khan applied to the International Criminal Court for arrest warrants for two senior Israeli officials and three Hamas leaders. The two Israeli officials are Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Galant, and the three Hamas leaders are Haniyeh, the former leader of the Hamas Political Bureau who died in the Israeli army attack, Yahya Sinwar, who succeeded Haniyeh, and Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Masri, the leader of the Qassam Brigades, an armed faction under Hamas.

Karim Khan stated that Netanyahu and Galant were criminally responsible for "war crimes and crimes against humanity" committed in the Gaza Strip "since at least October 8, 2023", and the three Hamas leaders were criminally responsible for "war crimes and crimes against humanity" committed in Israeli territory and the Gaza Strip "since at least October 7, 2023".

Reuters said that the Israeli army launched air strikes in several areas in southern Lebanon on the 23rd, killing at least 8 members of Hezbollah and another child. The Times of Israel said that Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets and missiles at Israel that day, some of which caused forest fires, but there were no reports of casualties. (End)