Gaza ceasefire talks are on their last legs, and Benjamin Netanyahu is to blame / Gaza death toll passing 40,000 is ‘grim milestone’ says UN human rights chief as ceasefire talks begin

The US is transferring $3.8bn to Israel in military aid per year. Biden has leverage to force a deal, but he refuses to use it

Joe Biden is making a last-ditch effort to salvage the Gaza ceasefire agreement he has been pushing for months. The US president, along with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, have called on Israeli and Hamas negotiators to resume indirect talks on Thursday to hammer out an agreement. But Biden and his administration won’t name and shame the biggest obstacle to reaching a deal: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister. For months, Netanyahu has tried to block an agreement by backtracking and adding new conditions, prompting Israeli security officials to accuse him of sabotaging the negotiations to stay in power.

Since a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas collapsed on 1 December, Biden has invested nearly all of his administration’s efforts into resurrecting a ceasefire. But Biden refuses to impose any cost on Netanyahu for his obstinacy and prolonging the conflict. Since Israel launched its brutal war on Gaza 10 months ago, Biden has failed to use the two most effective levers of power at his disposal: withholding billions of dollars in US weapons shipments, and denying Israel political cover at the United Nations security council and other international bodies….

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/14/netanyahu-israel-gaza-ceasefire

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Gaza death toll passing 40,000 is ‘grim milestone’ says UN human rights chief as ceasefire talks begin

The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk has said that today marks “a grim milestone” with the news that the death toll from Gaza has surpassed 40,000. His statement said: “This unimaginable situation is overwhelmingly due to recurring failures by the Israeli Defense Forces to comply with the rules of war.

“On average, about 130 people have been killed every day in Gaza over the past 10 months. The scale of the Israeli military’s destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and places of worship is deeply shocking.

“International humanitarian law (IHL) is very clear on the paramount importance on the protection of civilians, and civilian property and infrastructure. Our Office has documented serious violations of IHL by both the Israeli military and Palestinian armed groups, including the armed wing of Hamas.

“As the world reflects on and considers its inability to prevent this carnage, I urge all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire, lay down their arms and stop the killing once and for all. The hostages must be released. Palestinians arbitrarily detained must be freed. Israel’s illegal occupation must end and the internationally agreed two-State solution must become a reality.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/aug/15/israel-gaza-war-live-ceasefire-talks-qatar-hamas-iran

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