Gaza ceasefire talks heat up again amid Israeli attack | Israel-Palestine Conflicts News

Israel, Hamas and international stakeholders are engaged in what appears to be the most difficult negotiations in months over a possible deal to end fighting in the besieged Gaza Strip, where scores of Palestinians continue to be killed by Israeli attacks every day.

Hamas said in an official statement on Tuesday that thanks to the “good” talks held in Doha and talks with Qatar and Egypt, reaching an agreement to stop fighting and exchange prisoners “is possible if the occupation stops imposing new conditions”.

Sources quoted in the Israeli media have been expressing growing hope in recent days that the officials’ intense push to freeze the deal since August may bear fruit.

“This hope is cautious because we have been there and efforts failed at the last minute due to new circumstances and different considerations,” said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh.

“Currently, as we understand, the negotiations depend on the details, on the names that will be released from Gaza and who will be released from the Palestinian side. The outgoing and incoming United States authorities are interested in the agreement, even if it does not lead to an end to the war. “

At least 45,059 Palestinians have been killed and 107,041 injured in more than 14 months of Israel’s offensive in Gaza that began after at least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 they were taken. the captive. About half of the hostages have since been freed less than a week into the fighting last year.

In the US, the main supporter of Israel’s military and politics, President Joe Biden promised this week that he would continue to work to get the remaining hostages out of the area, while President-elect Donald Trump said there would be “hell to pay” if they were released when he took office in January.

The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Bill Burns is expected in the capital of Qatar, Doha, on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments and will meet with Sheikh Mohammed Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to the US-based agency Axios.

Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, told Knesset lawmakers on Monday that a deal was “closer than ever”, but clarified later in the day that after the army defeats Hamas, it will “control security in Gaza with full freedom of action”.

“We will not allow a return to the pre-October 7 situation,” he said in a statement, adding that Israel’s control over Gaza would be exactly the same as the West Bank.

Israeli forces launched daily violent attacks in the West Bank, regularly killing, maiming or arresting Palestinians and destroying their homes.

Hamas did not address Israel’s insistence on continuing to control Gaza even if an agreement is reached in its latest statement, but previously said Israeli forces must withdraw from the area.

The group’s conditions previously included withdrawing from the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt and the so-called Netzarim Corridor that the Israeli military established to separate southern and northern Gaza, as well as an increase in humanitarian aid and reconstruction of the base.

Israel continues to besiege a hospital in northern Gaza

As talks about a possible ceasefire seem to be gaining momentum, Israel’s continued offensive in Gaza has had a devastating effect.

In one of its latest attacks on Wednesday, Israeli forces stormed the intensive care unit of the besieged Kamal Adwan hospital in the north and shut it down, director Hussam Abu Safia told Al Jazeera.

There were also many casualties after Israeli forces blew up a tent in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

The humanitarian situation in this area continues to be a crisis as the Israeli army continues to block most of the aid, especially in the north, which has been under severe siege for more than 70 days.

This comes as the United Nations voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to pass a Palestinian statehood resolution, with 172 countries voting in favor and only eight – including Israel and the US – opposing it.