Strained truce talks: Challenges amid ongoing Israeli actions in Gaza and Lebanon

With the continued Israeli aggression in Gaza and also in southern Lebanon, negotiations for a truce in Gaza continue to face difficulties despite indications that an agreement may be reached by the end of Ramadan or shortly after that.

This article was originally published in, translated from Lebanese online newspaper Al-Anbaa.

Monitoring sources of these negotiations highlighted through "Al-Anbaa" that "Israel maneuvers, as usual, to reach a connection to the location of Israeli hostages to free them, and then continues its plan to expel Palestinians from Rafah, disregarding all international appeals. Thus, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invests in the war to protect himself."

The sources indicated that "the United States appears very helpless in influencing the enemy's Prime Minister to deliver food and medicine to the afflicted in Gaza, so they preferred to drop aid to them from the air or consider establishing a port on the Gaza shore to deliver aid to them by sea if Israel allows it."

"This means that these negotiations are at a critical juncture, with the conclusion that Netanyahu is determined to invade Rafah before the end of Ramadan or after that," the sources said.

The sources added, "He no longer wants to hear about the two-state solution, dismissing all peaceful initiatives from his calculations." 

The sources stopped at the announcement by US President Joe Biden of the failure to reach a truce before Ramadan, seeing in it "a dangerous indicator of the inability of the US administration to influence Netanyahu, who is trying to take advantage of the electoral climate dominant in the United States to implement his aggressive plans in Gaza and southern Lebanon."

The sources said that "the situation in Gaza is not much different from that in southern Lebanon. Despite Hezbollah's commitment not to deviate from the rules of engagement except when Israeli attacks necessitate a response, it was clear that the enemy is working with all its might to drag Hezbollah into a comprehensive war."

"The enemy aims to carry out its threats and to penetrate Lebanese territory in an attempt to besiege Hezbollah and prevent it from posing a threat to the security of the northern settlements in the future," the sources continued.

For the local political scene, the visit of the National Moderation Bloc delegation to Ain el-Tineh and its meeting with the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, stood out. 

The delegation described the meeting as "very positive," contrary to what had been circulated by some in the past hours. MP Walid Baarini, who described the initiative as successful, noted that it received strong support from Berri.

Sources from the Moderation Bloc indicated to "Al-Anbaa" that "the meeting with President Berri was good and encouraging to continue communication with all parliamentary blocs to discuss with them away from the media about the mechanism that will be adopted in the consultative session, which will not include neither a president nor a leader." 

The sources also emphasized, "Rather, it is what everyone agrees on, and it will inevitably lead to the election of a president and the end of the Lebanese people's suffering, especially since there is consensus among all political forces to accomplish this entitlement."

As for the date of the session, whether it will take place during the month of Ramadan or after, the sources pointed out that "this matter is subject to the agreement of the parliamentary blocs, as it is possible to hold the consultative session within a week or two weeks, or to postpone it until after the Eid al-Fitr and Easter holidays."