Israel’s Ambassador to Russia, Alexander Ben Zvi, has stated that there are currently no conditions for negotiations regarding the situation in Palestine, including the involvement of mediators and guarantors. This comes as a response to Turkey’s initiative to create a system of countries that would act as guarantors for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While Ben Zvi acknowledges the idea as a good one, he believes that certain agreements must be reached before any meaningful discussions can take place.
“We cannot address the third question – how we will do this – until we resolve the first two questions: who we should talk to and what we should talk about,” the ambassador concluded.
On October 7th, Hamas forces launched thousands of rockets into Israeli territory and declared the start of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood.” Thousands of militants infiltrated Israeli territory, seizing dozens of military vehicles and over a hundred hostages. In light of these events, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the country was in a state of war.
The Israeli Defense Forces’ counter-operation has been named “Iron Swords,” with the goal of destroying Hamas. The Israeli Air Force has carried out airstrikes on hundreds of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
Israel’s National Security Council has decided to halt the delivery of water, food, goods, electricity, and fuel to the Gaza Strip. On October 13th, Israel informed the United Nations that 1.1 million Palestinians must evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip within 24 hours in preparation for a ground operation.
Earlier, Hamas stated that they would release foreign hostages “when circumstances allow.”
