Gaza: Second Day of Ceasefire Talks in Doha

International negotiators gather Friday, August 15, in Doha, Qatar, for the second round of ceasefire talks in Gaza, which many international observers call “the last hope of averting a large-scale war between Israel and Iran.”

Even in the absence of a delegation from the Islamist Hamas movement, there were “constructive discussions” on the first day of Thursday’s talks. This was reported by two US officials to Israeli news site Walla on condition of anonymity. Other officials familiar with the atmosphere of the talks said that “the decision to continue talks for a second day shows that the parties are determined to reach an agreement.”

According to international negotiators, including CIA Director William Burns and President Joe Biden’s special envoy for the Middle East, Brett McGurk, “the talks are aimed at achieving a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of 115 Israeli and foreign hostages” and should also prevent Iran from attacking the Jewish state following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri did not rule out the participation of the movement’s delegation in “subsequent rounds of talks” and suggested that “the mediators put pressure on Israel to agree to end the war and withdraw all forces from the Strip.” For his part, at the start of the second round, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that “talks are continuing no matter what” and that “after a promising start, there is a glimmer of hope for a political solution to the conflict.”

To allow the talks to continue “calmly,” Lebanon’s pro-Iranian Shiite party Hezbollah announced that “it will not take any retaliation for the killing of senior commander Fuad Shukr, which took place on July 30 in an Israeli raid on the outskirts of south Beirut – during a new round of talks in Qatar.” An anonymous Hezbollah source told the Washington Post that the party “will not launch a retaliatory operation during the Qatar talks. “The party does not want to be held responsible for obstructing negotiations or a potential agreement,” the source said, adding, however, that “retaliation has no time limit.”

Meanwhile, new details are emerging of the phone conversation between former US President and Republican candidate for the White House Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Trump suggested to the Israeli Prime Minister that the war in Gaza should end quickly.”

In practice, Trump repeated the invitation, which was announced during the prime minister’s visit to the USA last month. At a press conference in New Jersey on Thursday, August 15, Trump said he urged Netanyahu to “win quickly” because “the killing in Gaza must stop.” Trump denied that he had urged Israel’s prime minister not to accept a ceasefire agreement with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, saying Netanyahu “knows what he’s doing.” “I advised him to put a stop to it. This has to end quickly. Get the win and be done with it. This has to stop, the killing has to stop,” the Republican leader added.

A very important and timely invitation, as the Israeli Air Force has hit more than 30 targets in Gaza in the last 24 hours. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote in a press release that “buildings and infrastructure used by Palestinian terrorist groups,” as well as “armed militia cells,” were attacked.

In addition, Israeli army ground operations continued in Rafah and Khan Younis in the southern part of the Strip and near the Netzarim corridor in the central area. In Khan Younis, members of the Parachute Brigade stormed a building, “inside which they found weapons, grenade launchers, and explosive devices.” In central Gaza, Harel Brigade reservists discovered several tunnels and killed several militias using a drone. The IDF also announced that the navy had destroyed “a number of terrorists who posed a threat to troops operating in Gaza” by bombing from its ships.