Gaza talks leave withdrawal open as violence tightens life in Lebanon and the West Bank
Israel and the Board of Peace opened working groups without a withdrawal pledge, while projectile fire displaced families in southern Lebanon and aid reached besieged households in Qusra.
Geopolitics··Morning
Working groups open, withdrawal stays without a public pledge
In Monday's long meeting, Israel and the Board of Peace agreed to open working groups on disarmament and on public health, with a shared position that demilitarisation should be prompt and finished before any reconstruction. Israel gave no public undertaking to pull back from the 60 percent of Gaza its forces hold. Jared Kushner had met the Hamas leader in Cairo on Sunday before travelling to Israel; former British prime minister Tony Blair and Board of Peace director Nickolay Mladenov joined the session with Netanyahu. Officials called the talks deep and constructive, while a spokesperson for Mladenov described the outcome as a work in progress. Hamas has accepted the American proposal; Netanyahu rejected an earlier 15-point roadmap and faces an election on 27 October. A senior Israeli official told NBC News that the two sides agreed the handover of Hamas weapons should be supervised by an American general; Netanyahu's office confirmed only the working groups.[1]
UNIFIL raises the daily projectile count in southern Lebanon
UNIFIL recorded an average of 137 projectiles a day in southern Lebanon between 5 and 16 August, among them 208 on Saturday and 185 on Sunday. The peacekeeping force said families are being displaced or forced to change their daily routines. Lebanon's count of deaths from Israeli attacks since 2 March reached 4,346 after 11 people were killed on Saturday; that figure is Lebanon's tally. UNIFIL's mandate runs out at the end of the year and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun supports extending it. A framework agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel on 26 June provides for a gradual Israeli withdrawal from occupied Lebanese land; Hezbollah has rejected the deal and demands a full withdrawal first. Ziad Abu Rish of Bard College told Al Jazeera that Israel is trying to demonstrate an undeterred resolve and described its approach as collective punishment of the Lebanese population; that is his reading, not an independently established finding.[2]
Aid reaches Qusra's threshold while 3 families stay surrounded
Humanitarian teams reached Palestinian families confined in the northern West Bank village of Qusra, and UNICEF delivered water, food, medicines, hygiene items and recreational kits for children. 3 families were still surrounded by Israeli forces and settlers on Monday. Municipal workers repaired damaged water and electricity connections; UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said settlers attacked the workers and Israeli forces detained some of them, and that Israeli forces ordered a nearby Palestinian factory to suspend operations. The confinement followed the establishment of an Israeli settlement outpost and tighter access restrictions. In Gaza, the UN reports 2.1 million people confined to less than half the enclave's former area, fewer than 30,000 tents bought against a need of 80,000 to 130,000, and less than 40 percent of the 4 billion dollars sought for humanitarian work secured.[3]
