Isreal Plans Offensive Attack, Egypt and Qatar Wade In to Forestall Escalation

Eko Hot Blog reports that  The Israeli military, yesterday, said it had called up an unprecedented 300,000 reservists and was imposing a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, signs that it could be planning a ground offensive attack there to defeat Hamas after it launched a humiliating attack.

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Israel’s Kan TV said the death toll from the Hamas attack had climbed to 800. Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told mayors of southern towns hit by Saturday’s surprise assault that Israel’s response would change the Middle East.

In a further signal of Israel’s rapid shift on to a war footing, a cabinet member from Netanyahu’s Likud Party said it could set up a national unity government joined by opposition leaders within hours.

Hamas’ armed wing said it fired rockets towards Jerusalem in response to Israel’s bombing of civilian homes in Gaza. Four people in an area on the outskirts of the city were wounded, the ambulance service said.

Meanwhile, Qatar and Egypt have been in close contact with Israel and Hamas as they try to prevent further escalation in fighting between them and ensure the protection of Israelis taken hostage by Palestinian militants. Two Egyptian security officials confirmed yesterday that talks were already ongoing.

Egypt has urged Israel to exercise restraint and Hamas to hold its captives in good condition to keep open the possibility of de-escalation soon, although successive Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip made mediation difficult, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity.

On its part, Qatari mediators have held urgent calls to try to negotiate freedom for Israeli women and children seized by the militant group and held in Gaza in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters.

Qatar’s foreign ministry confirmed to Reuters its involvement in mediation talks with Hamas and Israeli officials, including over a possible prisoner swap. The ongoing negotiations, which Qatar has been conducting in coordination with the United States since Saturday night, are moving positively, said the source, who has been briefed on them.

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“We are in constant contact with all sides at the moment. Our priorities are to end the bloodshed, release the prisoners and make sure the conflict is contained with no regional spillover,” foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari told Reuters, without elaborating as at press time, but there are no signs of breakthroughs as both sides dig in. When asked to respond to the Reuters report, an Israeli official told Reuters only: “There are no negotiations under way.”

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