The American website "Axios" revealed, on Monday, January 8, 2024, that the Israeli leaders will inform US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who arrived in Tel Aviv on Monday, that they will not allow the return of Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip if the "Hamas" movement does not agree to release more hostages.

The American website said, quoting two senior Israeli officials: “Israel is not fundamentally opposed to allowing the Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, but that depends on a new hostage deal with the resistance,” he said, and the source added that the possibility of reaching a new deal will become clear within few weeks.

A senior Israeli official was quoted as saying that Israel and the United States realize that the return of the Palestinians to the north will not be achieved in light of the continuing fighting in some areas, but Axios, citing its sources, said that Israeli officials are expected to inform Blinken of their readiness to begin the planning process with the United States and the United Nations for the return of the Palestinians to their areas in the future.

An Israeli official was quoted as saying: “We will not let the Palestinians return to their homes in northern Gaza if progress is not achieved regarding the release of detainees.”

A new phase of the Gaza war

In a related context, the Israeli army announced, on Monday evening, the start of a “new phase” of the war in the Gaza Strip, less intense in fighting, and including “fewer ground forces and air attacks.” This came according to statements made by army spokesman Daniel Hagari to the American newspaper The New York Times.

Hagari said that the Israeli occupation army "began a new, less intense phase of fighting." He explained that the new phase “will include ground forces and fewer air attacks,” according to the same source.

Hagari's statements came hours before US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Israel, as part of a Middle Eastern tour aimed at preventing the conflict in Gaza from expanding into a regional war, according to the newspaper.

Hagari said that Israel "will continue to reduce the number of forces in Gaza, a process that began earlier this month."

He claimed that "the intensity of operations in northern Gaza has already begun to recede," noting that the Israeli army "will now focus on Hamas strongholds in the south and center of the Strip, especially around the cities of Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balah."

Israel "also aims to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, including tents to shelter displaced people," Hagari said.

The United Nations says that, as of the end of December 2023, nearly 85% of the Strip’s population, or about 1.9 million people, have been forced to leave their homes, amid an Israeli ground operation and heavy aerial bombardment.

Source: Arabic Post