The latest round of ceasefire talks in Gaza ended in Cairo after “in-depth and serious discussions”, the militant group Hamas said on Sunday, reiterating key demands that Israel has again rejected.
After signs of progress, the outlook appeared bleak as Israel closed the main crossing to Gaza for much-needed humanitarian aid following an attack by Hamas militants. The defense minister claimed that Hamas does not take the deal seriously and warned of “strong actions in the near future in Rafah and elsewhere throughout Gaza”.
Israel did not send a delegation to the talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar, and Defense Minister Yoav Galante said “we are seeing signs that Hamas is not interested in reaching any agreement”.
Egyptian state media reported that the Hamas delegation left Cairo for Qatar for discussions and would return to the Egyptian capital on Tuesday for further negotiations.
Another threat to the negotiations is Israel’s order to close the local office of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network, accusing it of broadcasting anti-Israel incitement. The ban does not appear to have affected the channel’s operations in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from government hardliners, continues to lower expectations for a ceasefire, saying Hamas’s key demands, including Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and an end to the war, are “extreme.” Netanyahu said this amounted to a surrender after fighting sparked by a Hamas attack on October 7.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement earlier that the militant organization has a serious and positive attitude toward negotiations and that stopping Israel’s aggression in Gaza is the top priority.
But the Israeli government has again vowed to continue military operations in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city on the border with Egypt, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are currently seeking refuge from Israeli attacks. Rafa is a key entry point for aid.
Kerem Shalom was another, now closed. The Israeli military reported that 10 artillery shells were fired from the southern Israeli border crossing and said its fighter jets subsequently hit the source of the rounds. Hamas said it targeted Israeli soldiers in the area. Israel’s Channel 12 television channel said 10 people were injured, three of them seriously. It’s unclear how long the crossing will be closed.
The attack came shortly after the head of the U.N. World Food Program claimed there was a “total famine” in devastated northern Gaza, the most prominent warning yet about restrictions on food and other aid entering the region. one. These comments were not a formal declaration of famine.
In expanded remarks after the full NBC interview was released on Sunday, World Food Program chief Cindy McCain said famine in Gaza was “moving south” and that Israel was Efforts to provide more aid are not enough. “We need more capacity to accommodate more trucks,” she said. “We have a massive mass at the border right now, about enough trucks and enough food to feed 1.1 million people for about three months. We need to get that stuff in.”
The huge humanitarian needs in Gaza have put further pressure on the realization of the ceasefire. Egyptian mediators’ proposals to Hamas set out a three-phase process that would lead to an immediate six-week ceasefire and the partial release of Israeli hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack, and include some kind of Israeli form of withdrawal. The initial phase will last 40 days. Hamas would first release female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Netanyahu claimed that Israel had shown a willingness to make concessions but said it “will continue to fight until all goals are achieved.” This includes the stated goal of suppressing Hamas. Israel says Rafah must be targeted to fight remaining militants there, despite warnings from the United States and other countries about the dangers faced by civilians.
Israel attacked Attar’s home in a refugee camp in the city near Rafah on Sunday, killing four children, including an infant, and two adults, according to Abu Yusuf Najjar Hospital.
Netanyahu later added in a speech on Israel’s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day: “We will defend ourselves by all means. We will defeat our enemies and we will ensure our security – in the Gaza Strip, Lebanese borders and around the world.
On October 7, Hamas cross-border attacks killed approximately 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. Israel said the militants were still holding about 100 hostages and the bodies of more than 30 people. Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure from some of the hostages’ families to reach a deal to end the war and free the hostages.
Israeli air and ground attacks have killed more than 34,500 people, according to Palestinian health officials, who did not distinguish between civilians and combatants but said women and children made up the majority of the victims.
Israel blames Hamas for the civilian deaths and accuses it of infiltrating homes and public areas. The Israeli military says it has killed 13,000 militants, but has provided no evidence to support this claim.
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