Israel pounds Rafah as ceasefire negotiations resume in Cairo

AFP | Rafah    

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Israel bombarded Rafah yesterday and the military said ground troops conducted “targeted raids” in the southern Gazan city, as negotiations to halt the seven-month war resumed in Cairo.

An Israeli official said visiting CIA Director Bill Burns and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed yesterday “the possibility” of suspending military operations in Gaza’s Rafah in exchange for Hamas freeing hostages.

Netanyahu and the US spy chief, who has been involved in mediation efforts in the Israel-Hamas war, met in Jerusalem as part of Washington’s latest efforts to secure a truce in the Gaza Strip.

“The two discussed the possibility of Israel pausing the operation in Rafah in exchange for hostage release,” the Israeli official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Israel has defied international objections and sent tanks into Rafah, which is crowded with Palestinian civilians sheltering near the Egyptian border, seizing on Tuesday a crossing that is the main conduit for aid into the besieged territory.

The White House condemned the interruption to humanitarian deliveries, with a senior US official later revealing Washington had paused a shipment of bombs last week after Israel failed to address concerns over its long-threatened Rafah operation.

The Israeli military yesterday said it was reopening another major aid crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom, as well as the Erez crossing.