Day: February 13, 2024
Published February 13th, 2024 – 08:26 GMT
ALBAWABA – Israeli officials confirmed to AFP that Mossad chief David Barnea will be visiting Cairo, to meet with Egyptian and U.S. counterparts to hold talks regarding a new ceasefire deal in Gaza.
The Israeli sources also confirmed that Barnea will be meeting Central Intelligence Agency chief William Burns, who will be joined in the Egyptian capital by Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who also serves as the country’s top diplomat and has brokered previous Gaza ceasefires.
Sources familiar with the specifics of the ceasefire talks said that Burns is expected in Cairo for talks on a Qatari-brokered truce proposal after Israel rejected the initial response last week from Hamas in Gaza.
CIA Director Bill Burns is heading to Cairo Tomorrow for further talks with Mossad chief, Shin Bet director & Qatari officials.
It’s said Hostages deal will be discussed. pic.twitter.com/bjkzdmSRbD
— Military Eye (@MilitaryEye) February 12, 2024
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller stated that the White House “does not support a full-scale military operation without a credible plan for civilians in Rafah”.
These remarks come hours after Israel announced rescuing two hostages Hamas had taken into custody on October 7 and were in “stable medical condition”.
Dozens of Israeli hostages were released after a deal with Hamas that had more than 200 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for hostages in Hamas’s custody and the halting of all military operations from both sides across Gaza.
Al-Aqsa Flood operation against Israel
Hamas military group announced on Oct. 7 a military operation called “Al-Aqsa Flood” against Israel which is the biggest offensive in decades.
Palestinian fighters “infiltrated” Israel from the Gaza Strip and captured military bases and took hostages as photos and videos went viral online showing Hamas fighters on vehicles inside Israel and others paragliding into occupation territory.
In response, Israeli armed forces announced targeting Hamas positions inside the Gaza Strip. Thousands were killed, and dozens of thousands of others were injured in the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The latest statistics by the Ministry of Health in Gaza revealed that the death toll from Israeli brutal pounding on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has soared to 28,473 people, with more than 68,146 injuries.
Since then, approximately 85% of Gazans have been displaced, all of whom are suffering from severe food insecurity, and the healthcare system has collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of people lack shelter, and aid trucks are entering the area at a lower rate than before the conflict began.
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Mossad chief set to visit Cairo, Egypt for Gaza ceasefire talks. #Mossad #Cairo #Egypt #Gaza #DavidBarnea #Israel https://t.co/77sLCjQnum
— Al Bawaba News (@AlBawabaEnglish) February 13, 2024
TBILISI, Georgia — Armenia said on Tuesday that two of its soldiers had been killed by Azerbaijani fire along the heavily militarized border, the first fatal incident since the two sides last year began negotiating a deal to end more than 30 years of intermittent war.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app that two of its soldiers had been killed and several more wounded at a combat post near the southern Armenian village of Nerkin Hand.
Azerbaijan’s border service said in a statement that it staged a “a revenge operation” in retaliation for a “provocation” it said Armenian forces had committed the day before.
It said that further “provocations” would be met with “more serious and decisive measures from now on.”
“The military and political leadership of Armenia is fully responsible for the incident.”
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that Armenian forces Monday evening fired at Baku’s positions along a northwestern section of the border, around 300 kilometers from Nerkin Hand. Armenia’s Defense Ministry denied that such an incident took place.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in conflict for over three decades over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan in September retook Karabakh in a lightning offensive, prompting a rapid exodus of almost all of the territory’s Armenian inhabitants, and a renewed push from both sides for a treaty to formally end the conflict.
Although fatal exchanges of fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been common for decades, the border had become more peaceful since the start of talks, with little serious fighting since the collapse of Karabakh in September 2023.
The peace talks have in recent months appeared to stagnate, with both sides accusing the other of sabotaging the diplomatic process.
TBILISI, Georgia — Armenia said on Tuesday that two of its soldiers had been killed by Azerbaijani fire along the heavily militarized border, the first fatal incident since the two sides last year began negotiating a deal to end more than 30 years of intermittent war.
Armenia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app that two of its soldiers had been killed and several more wounded at a combat post near the southern Armenian village of Nerkin Hand.
Azerbaijan’s border service said in a statement that it staged a “a revenge operation” in retaliation for a “provocation” it said Armenian forces had committed the day before.
It said that further “provocations” would be met with “more serious and decisive measures from now on.”
“The military and political leadership of Armenia is fully responsible for the incident.”
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said that Armenian forces Monday evening fired at Baku’s positions along a northwestern section of the border, around 300 kilometers from Nerkin Hand. Armenia’s Defense Ministry denied that such an incident took place.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in conflict for over three decades over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Azerbaijan in September retook Karabakh in a lightning offensive, prompting a rapid exodus of almost all of the territory’s Armenian inhabitants, and a renewed push from both sides for a treaty to formally end the conflict.
Although fatal exchanges of fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been common for decades, the border had become more peaceful since the start of talks, with little serious fighting since the collapse of Karabakh in September 2023.
The peace talks have in recent months appeared to stagnate, with both sides accusing the other of sabotaging the diplomatic process.