Jerusalem:
Israel said Thursday that its spy chief will attend ceasefire talks in Gaza and Hamas pledged to stop fighting if a ceasefire is reached, as long-stalled efforts to end the war appeared to be gaining momentum.
Previous attempts to end the years-long war have failed, although the United States has expressed hope that the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week could serve as an opening for a deal.
A senior Hamas official told AFP that a delegation from the group’s Doha-based leadership discussed “ideas and proposals” regarding a ceasefire in Gaza with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Thursday.
“Hamas has declared its willingness to stop the fighting, but Israel must commit to a ceasefire, withdraw from the Gaza Strip, allow the return of displaced persons, agree to a serious prisoner exchange agreement and the entry of allow humanitarian aid to Gaza,” the spokesperson said. official said.
The talks in Cairo were part of Egypt’s ongoing efforts to resume ceasefire negotiations, he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he welcomed Egypt’s willingness to reach an agreement “for the release of the hostages” still held by militants in Gaza.
After the meeting in Cairo, Netanyahu ordered the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency to leave for key mediator Qatar on Sunday to “advance a series of initiatives on the agenda,” the prime minister’s office said.
Earlier on Thursday, the United States and Qatar said ceasefire talks in Gaza would resume in the Qatari capital.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Qatari leaders in Doha on Thursday in his 11th trip to the region since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war.
– ‘Time is running out’ –
During the trip, which comes less than two weeks before the US elections, Blinken said mediators would explore new options.
He said they were looking for a plan “so that Israel can withdraw, so that Hamas cannot recover, and so that the Palestinian people can rebuild their lives and future.”
Qatar said US and Israeli teams would fly to Doha, with Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani adding that Qatari mediators had “re-engaged” with Hamas since Sinwar’s death.
Israeli and US officials, as well as some analysts, said Sinwar had been a major obstacle to a deal that allowed the release of 97 hostages still held in Gaza, 34 of whom the Israeli military said are dead.
An Israeli group representing families of hostages called on Netanyahu and Hamas to reach a deal to free the remaining prisoners.
“Time is running out,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Blinken landed in London late Thursday, where a U.S. official said he would meet Friday with the foreign ministers of Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, two key partners in a post-war plan for Gaza.
The official said Blinken would also meet Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati to discuss the parallel conflict in that country.
– Hundreds of deaths in days –
On the battlefield, the Israeli army has maintained pressure on Hamas and earlier this month launched an operation in northern Gaza, where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped.
“More than 770 people have been killed” in the north of the territory in the 19 days since the operation began, said Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defense, adding that the toll could rise as people crawl under the rubble would be buried.
He also said an attack on a school-turned-shelter killed 17 people on Thursday in central Gaza, where the Israeli army said it was targeting Hamas militants.
A Palestinian woman, Umm Muhammad, told AFP she was in a classroom when the strike struck.
“I was hugging my little girl and I couldn’t see through the thick smoke,” she said.
“I ran and screamed for my sister and found her alive downstairs, but there were (some) children torn to pieces.”
The civil protection agency said it can no longer provide first responder services in northern Gaza, accusing Israeli forces of threatening to “bomb and kill” their crews.
The Israeli military says the aim of its attack is to destroy the operational capabilities that Hamas is trying to rebuild in the north.
The Gaza war began with Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed 42,847 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run Health Ministry, data the United Nations considers reliable.
– Lebanon strikes, clashes –
After nearly a year of war in Gaza, Israel expanded its focus to Lebanon a month ago, pledging to secure its northern border against almost daily attacks from Hamas ally Hezbollah.
It launched a large-scale bombing campaign, mainly targeting Hezbollah strongholds around Lebanon, and sent ground troops on September 30.
Since September 23, the war in Lebanon has killed at least 1,580 people, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese Health Ministry figures, although the real toll is likely higher.
The ministry said three children were among 12 killed in Israeli attacks on two villages in eastern Lebanon on Thursday.
Later, Lebanese state media said Israel had struck the southern outskirts of Beirut, a Hezbollah bastion, about half an hour after Israel issued evacuation warnings.
Israel said five of its soldiers were killed in fighting in southern Lebanon, where there has been daily fighting with Hezbollah militants since the ground offensive began.
Hezbollah said it attacked Israeli forces and positions in northern Israel, as well as soldiers on Lebanese territory.
The war has sparked a massive displacement crisis in Lebanon, which is already suffering from years of political and economic crisis.
According to the French government, a conference in Paris on Thursday raised $800 million in aid for cash-strapped Lebanon.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)