AFP Asia Business

Syria’s foreign minister met with an Israeli delegation in Paris to discuss de-escalation and the situation in Druze-majority Sweida province after deadly sectarian violence last month, state media reported Wednesday.Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer attended the meeting on Tuesday, along with Syria’s intelligence chief, Syrian state television said, citing an unnamed government source.The meeting discussed “de-escalation and non-interference in Syria’s internal affairs” and addressed monitoring the Sweida ceasefire announced by the United States last month, state news agency SANA said.”Both sides affirmed their commitment to the unity of Syrian territory, their rejection of any projects aiming to divide it,” and emphasised that Sweida and its Druze citizens are an integral part of Syria, the broadcaster reported the source as saying.A week of violence began on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin, but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces, with Israel also carrying out strikes.Israel, which has its own Druze community, has said it acted to defend the minority group as well as to enforce its own demands for the demilitarisation of southern Syria.”These talks are taking place under US mediation, as part of diplomatic efforts aimed at enhancing security and stability in Syria and preserving the unity and integrity of its territory,” SANA said, adding they resulted in “understandings that support stability in the region”. – ‘More stable environment’ -Israel and Syria have technically remained at war since 1948.As an Islamist-led offensive late last year toppled longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, Israel deployed troops to the UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights which has separated Israeli and Syrian forces since the armistice that followed the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.State television said “the two sides discussed the need to reach a clear mechanism to reactivate the 1974 disengagement agreement… and establish a more stable environment”.Discussions also addressed the humanitarian situation in southern Syria, with both parties agreeing on “the need to intensify assistance for the people of Sweida and the Bedouin”, it reported.Hundreds demonstrated in Sweida on Saturday, calling for self-determination and some raising Israeli flags and accusing Damascus of imposing a blockade, something officials have denied, pointing to the entry of several aid convoys.Paris hosted a similar meeting between Shaibani and Dermer last month, while a diplomatic source previously told AFP that other face-to-face meetings were held in Baku.US envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack said on X late Tuesday that he met with Israeli Druze spiritual leader Mowafaq Tarif, discussing Sweida “and how to bring together the interests of all parties, de-escalate tensions, and build understanding”.

Israel’s defence minister has approved a plan for the conquest of Gaza City and authorised the call-up of around 60,000 reservists to carry it out, his ministry confirmed on Wednesday.Defence Minister Israel Katz’s move, confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson, piled pressure on Hamas as mediators pushing for a ceasefire in the nearly two-year war in Gaza awaited an official Israeli response on their latest proposal.While mediator Qatar had expressed guarded optimism over the latest proposal, a senior Israeli official said the government stood firm on its call for the release of all hostages in any agreement.The framework that Hamas had approved proposes an initial 60-day truce, a staggered hostage release, the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners and provisions allowing for the entry of aid into Gaza.Israel and Hamas have held on-and-off indirect negotiations throughout the war, resulting in two short truces during which Israeli hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.The latest truce proposal came after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans to conquer Gaza City, despite fears it will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have mediated the frequent rounds of shuttle diplomacy.Qatar said the latest proposal was “almost identical” to an earlier version agreed by Israel, while Egypt said Monday that “the ball is now in its (Israel’s) court”.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly comment on the plan, but said last week that his country would accept “an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war”.Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said on social media that his group had “opened the door wide to the possibility of reaching an agreement, but the question remains whether Netanyahu will once again close it, as he has done in the past”. – ‘White gold’ -The latest truce proposal came as Netanyahu faces increasing pressure at home and abroad.In Gaza, the civil defence agency reported Israeli strikes and fire killed 48 people across the territory on Tuesday.Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP the situation was “very dangerous and unbearable” in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods of Gaza City, where he said “shelling continues intermittently”.The Israeli military declined to comment on specific troop movements, saying only that it was “operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities” and took “feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm”.The military later said a strike in Khan Yunis overnight targeted a Hamas militant.Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the Palestinian territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.In the Zikim area of northern Gaza on Tuesday, an AFP journalist saw Palestinians hauling sacks of food aid along dusty roads lined with rubble and damaged buildings.Gazan Shawg Al-Badri said it took “three to four hours” to carry flour, what she called “white gold”, back to her family’s tent.”This bag is worth the whole world,” she said.Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,064 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which the United Nations considers reliable.