Middle East updates: Netanyahu in Washington for meetings

Following an order the previous day to evacuate Al-Malawsi, an area of Khan Younis previously designated as a 'safe zone', thousands of Palestinians filled the streets of the city in cars, carts, or on foot carrying what few belongings they had left.

"We were happily making breakfast for our children, as we had been safe for a month, only to be stunned by shells, warning leaflets" and dead bodies in the streets, resident Hassan Qudayh told French news agency AFP.

"This is the 14th or 15th time we've been displaced... Enough! We've been suffering for 10 months," he said.

Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry said that 70 people have died since the attack on the area began on Monday. Israel has not confirmed the death toll, but has said it was targeting Hamas infrastructure and leadership.

Various Palestinian factions agreed to form an "interim national reconciliation government" in post-war Gaza following a multi-day dialogue hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing.

Rivals Hamas — which runs Gaza — and Fatah — which runs the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank — along with 11 other groups, signed the historic deal that could potentially resolve the yearslong rift between the factions.

"Today we sign an agreement for national unity and we say that the path to completing this journey is national unity. We are committed to national unity and we call for it," Hamas official Musa Abu Marzuk said after the meeting.

Hamas has previously said, since the outbreak of the war, that it would seek a government of technocrats to pave the way for elections in both the West Bank and Gaza, with the eventual aim of setting up a Palestinian state.

Israel, which has been illegally occupying the West Bank for 57 years, according to the International Court of Justice, has repeatedly rejected the possibility of a Palestinian state, angering many of its backers in the process.

It also remains to be seen whether Israel would permit any government in Gaza that includes Hamas, something that it has ruled out in the past. Israel, like the US and Germany among others, designates Hamas as a terrorist organization.

China's role in the mediation efforts between the Palestinian groups also reflects Beijing's increasing attempts to counter US-led diplomacy on the international stage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told families of hostages being held in Gaza that a deal for their release could be approaching, his office said on Tuesday.

"The conditions are undoubtedly ripening. This is a good sign," he said on Monday after arriving in Washington.

A ceasefire deal, which would secure the release of Israeli hostages as well as Palestinian prisoners, was outlined by Biden in May.

Progress on such a deal has been slow, but US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Friday that negotiators were "driving toward the goal line."

Netanyahu is in Washington to meet with US leaders. The White House has been pressuring Netanyahu to strike a deal, as have families of those being held hostage in Gaza who want to see their loved ones return home.

Ruby Chen, father of dual US-Israeli citizen Itai Chen, who has been held hostage in Gaza since October 7, was skeptical of Netanyahu's comments.

"He did say that conditions were ripening but I'm taking that with a pinch of salt," Chen told Israeli Army Radio.

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington DC on Monday evening, ahead of planned meetings with US leaders and a speech in Congress.

Netanyahu was meant to meet with US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, but this was delayed until Thursday as the president has been recovering from COVID-19.

Following Biden's announcement that he would no longer run for a second term as president, the White House said that Vice President Kamala Harris — now the leading candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination for November's election —  would meet separately with the Israeli leader.

Netanyahu is also set to speak to both houses of Congress on Wednesday, thanks to an invite from the leaders of the houses, with the Republican House speaker Mike Johnson particularly keen to show his support for Israel.

Despite the continued support from the US for Israel's operations in Gaza, relations between Netanyahu and Biden have been strained, especially as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise, reaching more than 39,000, mostly civilians, on Monday, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Several progressive House Democrats have said that they will boycott Netanyahu's speech. Protests are also planned outside of Congress. 

ab/rm (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)