Jerusalem:
Israel announced on Thursday that its spy chief would attend Gaza ceasefire talks, and Hamas vowed to stop fighting if a ceasefire is reached, as efforts to end the long-stalled war appear to be gaining momentum.
Previous attempts to end the year-long war have failed, but the United States hopes last week’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar could lead to a deal. has been expressed.
A senior Hamas official told AFP that a delegation from the Doha-based group’s leadership discussed “ideas and proposals” related to the Gaza ceasefire with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Thursday.
“While Hamas has expressed its readiness to cease fighting, Israel has committed to a cease-fire, withdrawn from the Gaza Strip, allowed displaced people to return, agreed to a serious prisoner exchange deal, and returned to Gaza. We must allow humanitarian aid into the country.” the official said.
He added that the talks in Cairo are part of Egypt’s continued efforts to restart ceasefire negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he welcomed Egypt’s readiness to reach an agreement “for the release of hostages” still held by Gaza militants.
After the Cairo meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed the head of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad to depart for key mediator state Qatar on Sunday “to advance a series of initiatives on the agenda,” the prime minister’s office said. .
Earlier on Thursday, the United States and Qatar announced that Gaza ceasefire talks would resume in the Qatari capital.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Qatari leaders in Doha on Thursday during his 11th visit to the region since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 sparked the Gaza war.
– “We’re running out of time” –
During the trip, which came less than two weeks before the U.S. presidential election, Blinken said the mediators would explore new options.
He said they were seeking a plan “so that Israel can leave, that Hamas can’t regroup, and that the Palestinian people can rebuild their lives and rebuild their future.”
Qatar announced a US and Israeli team would fly to Doha, and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani said Qatari mediators would “re-engage” with Hamas after Mr Sinwar’s death. He added that
Israeli and U.S. officials and some analysts say Sinwar is a key obstacle to an agreement that would allow the release of 97 hostages still held in Gaza, with Israeli forces saying 34 of them have died. He said that he is doing so.
Israeli groups representing hostage families called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas to reach an agreement to release the remaining prisoners.
“Time is running out,” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said.
Blinken arrived in London late Thursday, and U.S. officials said he would meet on Friday with the foreign ministers of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, key partners in the Gaza post-war plan.
The official said Blinken also plans to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati to discuss the country’s parallel conflict.
– Hundreds of people died in a few days –
On the battlefield, Israeli forces continue to put pressure on Hamas, launching an operation earlier this month in northern Gaza, where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped.
Gaza Civil Defense Agency spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said “more than 770 people have been killed” in the northern part of the region in the 19 days since the operation began, and the death toll could rise further as many remain trapped under rubble. he added.
He also said 17 people were killed in an attack on a school-turned-shelter in central Gaza on Thursday and said Israeli forces were targeting Hamas militants.
One Palestinian woman, Umm Mohammed, told AFP she was sitting in a classroom when the strike broke out.
“I held my little daughter in my arms, but I couldn’t see anything through the thick smoke,” she said.
“I ran and screamed for my sister and found her alive downstairs, but there were also children there, torn apart.”
The Civil Defense Agency said it could no longer provide first response services in northern Gaza and accused the Israeli military of threatening to “bomb and kill” the crew.
The Israeli military says the aim of the attack is to destroy the operational capabilities Hamas is trying to rebuild in the north.
The Gaza war began with Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli statistics from AFP.
Israeli retaliatory attacks have killed 42,847 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to statistics from the Hamas-run autonomous region’s health ministry, data the United Nations considers reliable.
– Strikes, clashes in Lebanon –
After nearly a year of war in Gaza, Israel expanded its focus to Lebanon a month ago, vowing to protect its northern border from near-daily attacks by Hamas’s ally Hezbollah.
It launched a large-scale bombing campaign targeting Hezbollah’s strongholds mainly around Lebanon, and sent ground forces on September 30.
At least 1,580 people have been killed in the war in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally from the Lebanese health ministry, although the real death toll is likely much higher.
Three children were among 12 people killed in Israeli attacks on two villages in eastern Lebanon on Thursday, the ministry said.
Lebanese state media later reported that Israel had attacked a Hezbollah stronghold on the southern outskirts of Beirut, about 30 minutes after Israel issued the evacuation warning.
Israel says five soldiers have been killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, where it has been fighting daily with Hezbollah militants since the ground offensive began.
Hezbollah said it attacked Israeli forces and positions in northern Israel, as well as soldiers inside Lebanese territory.
The war has caused a massive displacement crisis in Lebanon, already suffering from years of political and economic crisis.
A conference in Paris on Thursday raised $800 million in aid for cash-strapped Lebanon, the French government said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
