Mediators and Hamas have arrived in Cairo for talks on a new ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war, but Israel is reportedly demanding guarantees over the fate of the hostages before participating.
The United States says the six-day pause – which will involve the release of more Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners – has been “more or less” accepted by Israel.
But Israeli media said Hamas refused to confirm which hostages were still alive, so Israel would not participate.
Egyptian officials who have been helping organize talks with Qatar said delegations from Hamas and Israel were expected to participate.
Hamas reportedly said that a ceasefire agreement could be reached within the next 24 to 48 hours if Israel accepted the militant group’s demands.
Pressure for a deal intensified after Thursday’s incident outside Gaza City, which killed at least 112 people.
Hamas accused Israel of shooting at civilians rushing to get food from an aid convoy. Israel denied the claims, saying on Sunday that a preliminary review concluded that troops fired at “several people” who approached them but that most of the deaths were caused by crowds.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said the army’s “independent, professional and expert bodies” would conduct a comprehensive investigation and would share updates in the coming days.
Expectations for a ceasefire rose after a senior U.S. official told several news outlets that Israel was close to accepting the deal.
Sources said the two sides reached a “framework agreement” in which Israel “more or less accepted” a ceasefire that would allow the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and allow aid to enter the area.
However, the official said Hamas has not yet agreed to “identify vulnerable hostage categories” – which could become a sticking point in the deal.
Israel reportedly said ceasefire talks would not continue until Hamas submitted a list of hostages, including survivors and dead.
President Joe Biden revealed on Friday that the United States will begin airdropping humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Biden made the announcement a day after the Sese incident, saying the airdrops would begin “in the coming days.”
“We need to do more and the United States will do more,” Biden told reporters, adding that “the aid flowing to Gaza is not nearly enough.”
White House spokesman John Kirby emphasized that the airdrops would be “an ongoing effort.” He added that the first airdrops could be military MREs, or “meals ready to eat.”
“This is not going to be a one-and-done thing,” Kirby said.
Biden also said the United States was also considering the possibility of establishing a maritime corridor to deliver large amounts of aid to Gaza.
On October 7, Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took 253 people back to Gaza as hostages, after which the Israeli military launched a massive air and ground operation to destroy Hamas.
The Hamas Health Ministry in Gaza said that since then, at least 30,410 people have been killed, including 21,000 children and women, about 7,000 are missing and 71,700 have been injured.
Follow us on Google news ,Twitter , and Join Whatsapp Group of thelocalreport.in
