The Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip has caused the death of 20,000 Palestinians since October 7, Hamas announced this Wednesday., whose leader traveled to Egypt to discuss a ceasefire. According to the Palestinian Islamist organization, which governs Gaza, some 8,000 minors and 6,000 women lost their lives due to the operations and bombings of the Israeli army.
The head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, based in Qatar, arrived in Egypt on Wednesday to participate in talks on a ceasefire.
(Also read: Netanyahu promises to continue war in Gaza until the end despite truce negotiations).
After more than two months of war and in the face of international pressure, lThe two parties seem willing to agree to a second truce.
The first, which lasted a week, cled to the release of 105 hostages held by Hamas and 240 Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons.
Leading a “high-level” delegation, Haniyeh is due to meet with the head of the Egyptian intelligence services, Abbas Kamel. Discussions focus on “stopping aggression and war, preparing an agreement on the release of (Palestinian) prisoners and end the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip,” a source from Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union and Israel, explained to AFP on Tuesday.
At the meeting, “Numerous proposals will be discussed, including a one-week truce in exchange for Hamas releasing 40 Israeli prisoners.”“said a source close to Hamas this Wednesday, alluding to the hostages held in Gaza.
However, according to a Hamas leader, “a complete ceasefire and a withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from Gaza are necessary conditions for any exchange” between Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
According to a source in Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian movement allied with Hamas, the head of that organization, Ziad al Nakhala, will also travel to Cairo next week.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog declared Tuesday that his country is “ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid.” to facilitate the release of hostages”.
(Continue reading: Is a ceasefire approaching? Hamas leader arrives in Egypt to address a truce in Gaza).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, however, that “those who think we will stop live disconnected from reality.”. “We will continue the war until the end. It will continue until the elimination of Hamas, until victory,” he added in a video released by his cabinet.
Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, after the Palestinian movement attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,140 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on the latest official Israeli figures.
Some 250 people were taken hostage in the attack, 129 of whom remain in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.
Behind the scenes negotiations
According to the Axios news portal, David Barnea, the head of the Israeli Mossad intelligence service, met in Europe with Qatari Prime Minister Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and CIA Director Bill Burns to discuss a possible agreement. hostage release.
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A source close to those negotiations told AFP that “talks are continuing” after “a constructive meeting earlier this week in Warsaw.” “The objective is to reach an agreement on the release of the hostages (…) in exchange for a truce and an eventual release of Palestinian (prisoners),” he added.
Negotiations will also continue on Wednesday at the UN. Since Monday, the Security Council has been unable to adopt a resolution to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The vote has been postponed twice and Council members are looking for the appropriate formula to avoid the veto of the United States, Israel's main ally.
Humanitarian crisis
Meanwhile, Israel continues bombing Gaza. Hamas sources indicated on Wednesday morning that at least 11 people were killed in overnight bombings in Rafah, Khan Younis (south), Deir el Balah (center) and in the north of Gaza City.. A few hours later, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reported that at least 12 people were killed in Rafah.
“We were woken up by a huge explosion,” Samar Abu Luli, a resident of the Shabura refugee camp, in that town in the south of the enclave, told AFPTV. “We managed to escape by a miracle (…). But where to go? There is nowhere, no school, no mosque or clinic or hospital. Everything was destroyed.”
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The Israeli army, which lost 134 soldiers since the end of October, reported that since Tuesday it has bombed 300 targets and that it carried out an operation in a Hamas command and control center in Khan Younis, in the south of the Palestinian enclave.
Under total siege by Israel since October 9, the Palestinian territory faces a deep humanitarian crisis: most of its hospitals are out of service and 85% of its population, that is, 1.9 million people, have fled the destruction in the north of the enclave to take refuge in the south. According to a report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs published on Wednesday, half of the population suffers from extreme or severe hunger.
AFP
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