A last-minute glitch in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas has been resolved and a deal could be announced within hours, sources said.
Israel announced Hamas had tried to change agreed-upon understandings for security arrangements along the Philadelphi Corridor on Gaza’s border with Egypt. It strongly rejected the proposals. Qatar’s PM, who has been mediating the talks, met separately with Hamas and Israeli delegations, and shortly afterwards, the dispute was resolved. The Hamas official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the matter was resolved.
But there was still no official word on whether a final agreement had been reached. In the hours before a possible deal being struck more violence broke out with Israel pounding Gaza, killing dozens of Palestinians. At least 24 Palestinians were killed in bombing runs from Tuesday into Wednesday, including two women and four children. One of the women was pregnant and her baby died as well.
Fresh attacks came as Israel and Hamas appeared to be closing on a ceasefire deal to end the 15-month war and release dozens of hostages. Two Israeli officials claimed Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages.
Smoke plumes rising from explosions above destroyed buildings in the northern Gaza Strip
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Mediators ran into last-minute problems around the deal on Wednesday, which Israel claims was caused by Hamas trying to make changes to already agreed upon arrangements along Gaza’s border with Egypt. Hamas meanwhile called the claims “nonsense.” It forced Qatar to delay the expected ceasefire announcement, but that glitch was eventually overcome by late afternoon, according to sources.
Both sides have been working on a phased agreement that would include the release of dozens of hostages held by Hamas, the return of displaced Palestinians in Gaza to what remains of their homes and an influx of desperately needed humanitarian aid into the besieged territory.
The deal would also expect to trigger the release of an estimated 1,000 Palestinian prisoners who have been held for several years. It is understood that some 190 of the Palestinian prisoners are currently serving sentences of 15 years or more, although Israeli officials said anyone convicted of murder would not be released as part of the exchange.
Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when militants stormed into southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people and abducted roughly 250. A third of the 100 hostages still held in Gaza are believed to be dead. More than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since.
A ceasefire advocate in Tel Aviv
(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
In the West Bank, the Health Ministry said at least six people were killed by an Israeli airstrike in the Jenin refugee camp late Tuesday. The Israeli military confirmed a drone strike in the area but gave no further details. Israel has carried out months of raids in the camp in what it calls a crackdown against militants.
In the Gaza Strip, the bodies of 11 people were brought to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after a strike smashed into a house in Deir al-Balah, officials at the hospital said. Another strike killed six people in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp and wounded seven more, according to Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. Some of the dead were brought to the hospital in pieces, medical officials said. Among those wounded was Khaled Rayan, the head of the nursing department at the hospital.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel says it only targets militants and accuses them of hiding among civilians. Earlier Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 18 people, including two women and four children, according to local health officials, who said one woman was pregnant and the baby died as well.
Thousands of Israelis gathered Tuesday night in Tel Aviv’s “hostages square” in anticipation of a ceasefire deal, with some singing and playing music on a stage. But some demonstrators in Jerusalem chanted, “You don’t make a deal with the devil,” a reference to the Hamas militant group that attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hadas Kalderon, whose ex-husband Ofer and two children were abducted by Hamas, said: “It’s a very critical moment, it can be the happiest moment but it can be also the worst.”
A photo of Netanyahu and Biden
(Image: Getty Images)
Nearly 100 people are still captive inside Gaza, and the Israeli military believes at least a third are dead. Her son and daughter were released in a weeklong ceasefire in November but Ofer is still there. She said her kid have struggled since their release, worrying about their wounded father’s health. A few hundred people rallied in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, holding signs saying: “Why are they still there?” and chanting to bring the hostages home now.
The ceasefire deal comes after outgoing US secretary of state Anthony Blinken said a deal was “closer than it’s ever been before.” He previously said at a speech at the Washington D.C.-based think tank the Atlantic Council that he was waiting on “final word” from Hamas on its acceptance.
Early negotiations between the two parties had said the first stage of the ceasefire deal would include 33 hostages held by Hamas being set free, as well as several female soldiers and men aged 50 and above. Negotiations for a second stage of the death were expected to see the remaining hostages being freed, although that would happen only if it all goes to plan.
People inspect the debris and rubble at the site of Israeli bombardment on a residential block in Jalaa Street in Gaza City
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Blinken’s earlier statement came as Israel’s national security minister Ben Gvir tried to quash the truce ceasefire deal. He repeatedly tried to foil both a hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas. The deal brokered by negotiators comes following a war between Israel and Hamas that spilled out into multiple conflicts in the Middle East in neighbouring Lebanon and Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an invasion of the Gaza Strip shortly after the October 7 massacre where Hamas militants killed and kidnapped hundreds of civilians in the border region. But Hamas officials have stated the conflict in the densely-populated city has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, many of whom were children. The total number of dead in Gaza varies between 46,000 to 70,000 with more than 100,000 having been reported as injured.
The war also marked the steep decline in Hamas’ combat capabilities, following the death of Gaza Strip leader Yahya Sinwar who was killed by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in October. Israel expanded the conflict to fronts in Lebanon and in Syria, claiming such military action was necessary to protect its citizens.
Militants aligned with Hezbollah, another proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK, fired rockets at Israeli positions in October, 2023, leading to an Israeli response. Many of its commanders were killed by IDF forces leaving its forces diminished and unable to come to the aid of its ally in Syria.
The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime came quickly as his allies in Hezbollah and Russia found themselves engaged in costly conflicts. Netanyahu ordered the IDF to invade Syria and occupy the buffer zone between the country and the Golan Heights, a region considered by international observers to be Syrian territory under Israeli occupation.
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