Israel’s Cabinet has approved a cease-fire deal with the Hamas militant group that would bring a temporary halt to a devastating war now in its seventh week. The Israeli government said that under the deal, Hamas is to free at least 50 of the roughly 240 hostages it is holding in the Gaza Strip over a four-day period.
This seems like a good thing.
It’s a start, I hope this time is used to get civilians to safety or to negotiate for meaningful peace. I wonder if Egypt will open the Rafah gate?
The Rafah gate can only be opened with Israeli permission. They own part of it.
They want Egypt to let Palestinians out that way, and have reportedly been negotiating to that effect.
Oh, that’s what you meant. In that case, you want them to assist Israel’s ethnic cleansing? No thank you.
You think it’s better to force Gazan civilians to stay in an active war zone against their will until the ceasefire ends and they start dying again? Gross. Let the people who want out of what critics keep calling an, “open air prison,” leave, if that’s what they desire. Forcing civilians to be Hamas meat shields or political pawns against Israel isn’t a good deed.
And why exactly does it need to be Egypt taking two million refugees and not Israel ending their occupation? The logistics of taking that many people aside, you’re talking as if this a natural disaster and not Israel wanting to steal Palestinian land.
Geography and the fact that they control the only gate that leads to a nation they are not at war with? I saw plans floated elsewhere, (by Israeli right politicians,) to resettle them in multiple countries.
You mean blockade? Israel withdrew its occupation of Gaza in 2005.
I’m talking like this is a war, and refugees should be able to leave and not be held hostage. Not everyone values land above lives.
Due to the amount of control the blockade gives Israel over Gaza, Gaza is widely considered to still be occupied by Israel. This is the position of the UN among others.