War, no total truce but a glimmer of hope opens up on hostages
Hamas agrees to negotiate on hostages even in the absence of a permanent ceasefire. A senior official from the Palestinian faction that governs Gaza said. Hamas had demanded that Israel “agree to a full and permanent ceasefire” to begin hostage-exchange talks and end the nine-month-old war, the official said, adding that “this step was bypassed, as the (Qatari) mediators promised that as long as the prisoner negotiations continued, the ceasefire would continue.”
Gallant: “We will fight Hezbollah even with the truce in Gaza”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says the IDF will continue to fight Hezbollah in Lebanon even if Israel reaches a truce in the Gaza Strip. “I have given clear orders to the forces in both the south and the north, they are two separate sectors. Even if we reach an agreement on the hostages, and I very much hope that we can do so in the south, it will not be related to what is happening here, unless Hezbollah reaches an agreement” with Israel, he told troops during a visit to the Mount Hermon region. “Even if there is a ceasefire (in Gaza), here we continue to fight,” he said.
Protests in Israel, Demonstrators Demand Release of Hostages
New protests today in Israel to increase pressure on the Netanyahu government to reach an agreement with Hamas for the release of the hostages and a ceasefire: Protesters blocked several roads across the country and held pickets outside the homes of several ministers, the Guardian reports. The protests began at 6:29am (5:29am GMT), the same time as Hamas’s assault on Israel on 7 October, according to national media. Protesters took to the streets, blocking rush-hour traffic at major intersections across the country. Tires were also set on fire on the highway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Groups of protesters with megaphones and banners also protested outside the homes of several coalition ministers and lawmakers. “Total failure! Total failure!” shouted a small crowd outside the home of minister Ron Dermer, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner circle.
Gaza: Media, 6 killed in Israeli raid on Zawaida
The Palestinian news agency Wafa says six people were killed in an Israeli air strike that hit the town of Zawaida, in the central Gaza Strip, overnight. In the same hours, seven people were injured in other raids carried out on the Nuseirat refugee camp and the southern city of Khan Yunis, according to Wafa. Last night, other victims were reported in the city of Gaza. The toll in the Palestinian enclave since October 7 is at least 38,098 dead and 87,705 injured, according to the local Ministry of Health run by the Islamist movement Hamas.
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