Doha: In its editorial, Al-Raya newspaper considered the occupation's decision to occupy Gaza City 'despite positive progress in ceasefire negotiations 'to be yet another familiar Israeli attempt to escape anything that might halt the ongoing aggression on the Strip.
According to Qatar News Agency, the newspaper said that each time a comprehensive agreement nears 'one that could end the suffering of the Palestinian people and secure the release of Israeli hostages 'the extremist government takes steps to escalate the situation. Just yesterday, the Israeli army announced the beginning of the preparatory phase for occupying Gaza City, through intensive operations in the neighborhoods of Al-Zaytoun and Jabalia, it added.
This move exposes Israeli intentions aimed at destroying the Strip, rendering it uninhabitable, and pushing over a million Palestinians from Gaza City to the southern part of the Strip 'prior to encircling it and beginning incursions into residential areas, blowing up homes using remote explosive robots, artillery shelling, random firing, and forced displacement operations, the paper said.
Al-Raya concluded by saying that the daily massacres committed by the occupation have not broken the Palestinian people's determination to resist. They remain committed to achieving an independent state on their land. The leaders of the occupation must stop pursuing narrow political gains that risk the future of the region.
Meanwhile, The Peninsula newspaper said that Israel continues its fierce bombing and blockade of the Gaza Strip, undeterred by the repeated calls by world leaders for an end to the war and easing the suffering of over two million people of Gaza. Israeli forces have killed more than 62,000 Palestinians in their two years of campaign. With the catastrophic humanitarian situation unfolding in the Strip, the Israeli campaign has become a war for extermination of the Palestinian people.
The paper noted that French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the move, saying Israel's "military offensive" to conquer Gaza City "can only lead to a complete disaster for both peoples." He said the Israeli plan "will drag the region into a permanent war".
The new proposal agreed by Hamas envisages a temporary ceasefire for 60 days, during which a number of prisoners and hostages will be exchanged, along with the repositioning of Israeli forces and the intensification of humanitarian aid entry according to the terms of the agreement, the paper said.
It added that the proposal came amid intense efforts by mediators including Qatar to end the aggression on the Gaza Strip, pointing out that Qatar has been in constant contact with the United States, Egypt and other countries to help broker an agreement that sees halt to the war and increased delivery of humanitarian aid.
The international community must come together to enforce a peaceful two-state solution that guarantees establishing a viable Palestinian state on the basis of June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, The Peninsula concluded.