Pressure builds on Israeli PM over Gaza war

Internal and external criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is growing, even from his closest allies, over the on-going battle in Gaza while Washington has begun a diplomatic move in the region with proposals that it is hoped will lead to the end of the war.

US Senator Bernie Sanders said Netanyahu "will continue his destructive war against innocent Palestinians, and prevent the necessary supplies to prevent mass starvation...Now we must clarify our position".

In London, British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said on Sunday that Netanyahu’s statements rejecting any "Palestinian sovereignty" in the post-Gaza war period were "disappointing".

Shapps told Sky News that, for Britain, "there is no choice but" the two-state solution to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, US President Joe Biden's senior advisor  Brett McGurk, coordinator for Middle East and African affairs at the US National Security Council, began a shuttle tour, during which he will visit Egypt and Qatar, to discuss reaching a prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and the Hamas movement.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid announced his support for a deal, even if the price was stopping the war on Gaza.

According to Sky News Arabia, the US, Egypt and Qatar are pushing the two sides, Israel and Hamas, to join a phased diplomatic process that begins with the release of prisoners and ultimately leads to the withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to the war

Taher Al-Nono, Hamas' media advisor, said there had been no real progress, but those familiar with the talks said that Israel and Hamas were at least ready to resume the talks, weeks after they stopped, following the end of the last ceasefire on November 30.

Negotiations are scheduled to continue in Cairo in the coming days, according to a UN spokesman.

The new proposal, supported by Washington, Cairo and Doha, represents a new approach to defusing the conflict, aiming to make the release of Israeli detainees held by Hamas part of a “comprehensive deal” that could lead to an end to the fighting.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Egyptian officials said while Israeli leaders take a hard-line stance publicly, there are divisions within the Israeli Cabinet.