Israel kills top Fatah commander as Gaza truce talks stumble
SIDON
Lebanese firefighters put out a fire in a car after an Israeli strike in the southern city of Sidon on Aug. 21, 2024. An Israeli strike in Lebanon's southern city of Sidon on Aug. 21, killed a Fatah official, said a leader from the Palestinian group and a security source, marking the first such attack reported on Fatah in over 10 months of cross-border clashes.
The Israeli military carried out a strike on Wednesday in Lebanon, killing senior Palestinian militant Khalil Maqdah, which led to allegations from the Fatah movement that Israel aims to provoke a regional conflict.
Fatah identified Maqdah as "one of the leaders" of its militant arm in Lebanon. The incident occurred shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded his Middle East visit, which was focused on establishing a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
On the same day, U.S. President Joe Biden communicated with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, emphasizing the urgency of concluding both the ceasefire and hostage release agreement.
"We must bring the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure," President Biden stated on X.
Fatah, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and often at odds with the Gaza Strip's governing body Hamas, reported that Maqdah was killed near Sidon in southern Lebanon. Israel accused him of orchestrating attacks and smuggling weapons into the West Bank, working in coordination with Iranian forces.
This assassination represents Israel's first attack on a senior Fatah figure since cross-border hostilities with Lebanese militants, predominantly Hezbollah, began over ten months ago during the Gaza conflict. Tawfiq Tirawi, a member of Fatah's central committee, described the "assassination... as further proof that Israel wants to ignite a full-scale war in the region," speaking to AFP.
Meanwhile, Blinken, having left Qatar without securing a truce agreement, implored Hamas to accept a U.S.-crafted ceasefire. He also openly disagreed with Israel on its plans for future governance in Gaza. "Time is of the essence," Blinken remarked, urging for a prompt truce from Doha.
The ground situation in Gaza announced further air strikes on Wednesday. The civil defense agency within the Hamas-administered territory reported three fatalities and injuries to ten children following an Israeli strike on a Gaza City school repurposed as a shelter. The Israeli military justified the "precise strike" as targeting Hamas operatives stationed within the school compound. A father, who chose to remain unnamed, lamented his child's death during playtime in the schoolyard, questioning the justice of such an event.
The ongoing Israeli offensive resulted in at least 24 additional deaths in Gaza on the same day. Both Israel and Hamas accused each other of hindering the agreement of a peace deal, which is intended to cease hostilities prompted by Hamas's Oct. 7 offensive, secure the release of Israeli captives and facilitate crucial humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Diplomatic efforts by the United States to mediate, through Qatar and Egypt, sought to reignite discussions this week in Cairo. However, differences persist, with Netanyahu, cited in Israeli media, expressing dissent on a pivotal issue: maintaining Israeli control over the Philadelphi Corridor, a boundary between Gaza and Egypt seized from Hamas due to its reliance on subterranean smuggling routes.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited Philadelphi on Wednesday. In light of the war, Blinken asserted America’s opposition to any enduring Israeli occupation of Gaza, consistent with prior statements. Yet, he acknowledged Israel’s agreement on the "schedule and location" for troops withdrawing from Gaza, though detailed discussions have been withheld from the public eye.
Hamas expressed its desire for a ceasefire but objected to Israel’s introduction of "new conditions" in recent U.S. proposals.
The brutal conflict, initiated by the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the death of 1,199 people, predominantly civilians, based on official Israeli data, has seen a retaliatory Israeli campaign killing 40,223 Palestinians in Gaza, per the Hamas-administered health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant casualties. The U.N. rights office confirms most deceased are women and children.
Palestinian militants abducted 251 hostages, with 105 still in Gaza, including 34 whom the military believes to be deceased.
Israel’s recent evacuation mandates, impacting previously deemed "safe" zones in central and southern Gaza, has displaced approximately 150,000 Palestinians, according to the United Nations' humanitarian agency OCHA.
A U.N. representative lamented "death seems to be the only certainty" for Gaza's 2.4 million residents, given the lack of escape from Israeli bombardments. "Absolutely nowhere is safe," Louise Wateridge, a spokesperson for UNRWA, stated to AFP from Gaza.
In a show of solidarity, Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, executed assaults on Israeli positions over the Lebanon border, including in the contentious Golan Heights, subsequent to Israeli strikes that claimed five lives, as reported by Lebanon’s health ministry. Concerns of broader regional conflict have intensified following late July incidents in Tehran and Beirut, where killings of Iran-aligned militant leaders have been attributed to Israel.
In northern Israel, Netanyahu expressed preparedness for any eventuality, stating, "We are ready for any scenario." Meanwhile, mourners gathered in southern Israel for the burial of one of the six dead hostages rescued from Gaza by Israeli forces this week. The ceremony for Yagev Buchshtab was marked by calls from family members, like his mother Esther, urging Israeli authorities to secure an agreement for the return of all captives. "In what world must families beg, scream and cry for the return of their loved ones, alive or murdered? Bring them all back," she said.
