The war in Gaza began on October 7, with Hamas agents launching unprecedented attacks from Gaza (file photo)
Palestinian territories:
Negotiators from the United States, Israel and Hamas are expected to meet in Cairo over the weekend to renew their push for a ceasefire and hostage release deal as the war turns half a year old on Sunday.
Egypt’s Al-Qahera News said CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani will meet with Egyptian mediators Join Sunday for indirect talks between delegations from Israel and Hamas.
Ahead of the talks, Hamas confirmed its core demands – a complete ceasefire in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
It comes after the Israeli military made a rare admission of wrongdoing and said it would fire two officers for killing seven aid workers in Gaza, where humanitarians say famine is looming. However, the admission did not quell calls for an independent investigation.
The death of a worker at the World Central Kitchen (WCK) in the United States on April 1 led to a tense phone call between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden urged an “immediate ceasefire” and suggested for the first time that U.S. support for Israel would be conditional on reducing the killing of civilians and improving humanitarian conditions.
The bloodiest Gaza war in history began on October 7, with unprecedented attacks by Hamas agents from Gaza that killed 1,170 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians, Israeli data showed.
Palestinian agents also took about 250 Israeli and foreign hostages, of which about 130 remain in Gaza. More than 30 of them were said to be dead by the military.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and has carried out ruthless bombings that killed at least 33,137 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled areas.
Iran vows revenge
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths condemned Israel’s war against Hamas and called for “collective determination to reckon with this betrayal of humanity”.
An airstrike on the Iranian embassy and consulate in Damascus killed seven Revolutionary Guardsmen on Monday and Iran vowed to retaliate, raising fears that war could spread.
A senior administration official told AFP that ahead of the weekend talks, Biden wrote to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar urging them to ensure that Hamas committed to “agreeing to and adhering to the agreement.”
Negotiations have made fitful progress since a week-long truce in November that saw some hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The White House confirmed talks would take place in Cairo this weekend, and Hamas said its delegation would travel there on Sunday.
But Hamas also reiterated its key demands.
“Hamas confirms its adherence to the position it laid out on March 14… We will not abandon this position,” a statement said.
“The demands… are a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupying forces from Gaza, the return of displaced persons to their residential areas, freedom of movement for the people, the provision of aid and shelter to them and a serious hostage exchange agreement,” said.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Biden’s call with Netanyahu on Thursday included discussions about “authorizing his negotiators” to reach a deal.
Washington blames the failure to reach a deal on Hamas’s refusal to release sick and other vulnerable hostages. Qatar says Israel’s opposition to the return of displaced Gazans is the main obstacle.
Biden has come under pressure over massive U.S. military aid to Israel, which Washington has yet to capitalize on despite growing criticism of Israel’s war conduct.
The Israeli military announced the dismissal of two officers after it discovered a series of errors led to a drone strike that killed a WCK worker.
WCK said its Gaza operations remained suspended following the attack, while other global aid groups said relief efforts in the area were nearly impossible.
‘criminal’
The military said a commander “erroneously believed” that Hamas had seized an aid vehicle traveling at night.
Australian Foreign Minister Wong Ying-yin said on Saturday that Canberra “has not yet received sufficient information from Israel” about the deaths of Larzami “Zomi” Frankkom and other aid workers.
“It can’t be brushed aside and it can’t be swept under the rug,” Huang said.
WCK said Israel “cannot credibly investigate its failures in Gaza”. The UK has called for a “fully independent review”, while Poland has sought a “criminal” investigation.
Hours after Biden and Netanyahu spoke, Israel announced it would allow “temporary” aid shipments through the port of Ashdod and the Erez crossing.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for a “paradigm shift” rather than “dispersed measures”.
“die of hunger”
Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defense agency, told AFP on Saturday that the aid arriving in Gaza was “absolutely insufficient” to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.4 million people and that basic necessities were “extremely scarce”, especially food. in the northern region.
“Children are dying of hunger” there, he said.
Some 1.5 million Gazans have taken refuge in Rafah, in the territory’s southernmost tip.
“We are ordinary citizens and human beings,” Siham Achur, 50, said in what is now a tent in her home. “Why are they blowing up our house?”
Achul said they had lived in Khan Younis for 30 years, but those memories “have turned to dust.”
On Saturday, the Israeli military said warplanes killed Akram Salamah, a “senior” operative who it said had held several positions, including deputy to Hamas Khan Younis.
The army also recovered the body of Elad Qazir from Khan Younis, who was kidnapped by Islamic Jihad on October 7 and killed in captivity, the army said. The group is fighting alongside Hamas.
Yakov Livner, the Israeli ambassador to Warsaw, said on social media that Kazir holds dual Polish citizenship. Poland’s Foreign Ministry said it was “saddened” to receive the news of his death.
His sister, Qamit Parti Kazir, blamed Elad’s death on Israeli authorities and said he would have returned alive if they had agreed to a new truce.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
