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US Secretary for State John Kerry is headed to the Middle East on Tuesday to try and bring a diplomatic end to the devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas. The punishing Israeli air campaign has taken the lives of 177 Palestinians so far, and shows no sign of stopping. Most Arab nations have demanded an immediate end to the campaign, with Jordan’s King Abdullah II asking Israel to “stop targeting civilians”.
Before an emergency meeting of foreign ministers of the Arab League in Cairo, Hamas shot down any hopes of a truce deal with serious concessions from Israel. Israel, however, has said that it is not ready to agree to a ceasefire, as it continues to deal even harsher blows to Gaza and Hamas.
Hams Mushir al-Masri said Gaza will only negotiate if Israel concessions which include opening the Rafah crossing, lifting Israel’s blockade on Gaza and releasing Palestinian prisoners.
“Kerry will visit Egypt tomorrow, Tuesday, to conduct talks with senior officials”, official news agency MENA reported, adding that Kerry had already spoken with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri about the conflict over the phone.
The US State Department declined to comment on his schedule, with several Israeli press reports indicating that he would also visit West Bank and Jerusalem during his trip.
Human rights groups say that over 75% of the people killed have been civilians. According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, over a quarter of the deceased are children.
Israel had previously confirmed preparations for a ground attack, but now appears to be holding off on a security cabinet meeting to decide on sending troops on the ground. The pace of the air strikes on Monday was noticeably slower, with only 13 killed, far fewer that the 56 on Saturday, the most lethal day since the campaign began on July 8th. No Israelis have been killed the past week.
