Israeli infantry backed by tanks have focused on the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, the hometown of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. And according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health agency, Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed another 215 people in the past 24 hours.
The Israeli military said Sinwar's offices, military sites and "a key missile manufacturing facility" were raided by the army. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Monday that since the war began, the Israeli military had "eliminated more than 2,000 terrorists on and below ground" in the Khan Younis area.
The war between Israel and Hamas is making the humanitarian situation in Gaza worse. Photo: Reuters
In the latest effort to broker a new ceasefire, CIA Director William Burns met with top officials from Israel, Egypt and Qatar in Paris on Sunday.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who attended the talks, said “good progress” had been made and the parties “hope to convey this proposal to Hamas” to help bring peace to Gaza.
Sheikh Mohammed confirmed that the framework, which he said “could lead to a permanent ceasefire in the future”, included a phased truce in which women and children would be released as hostages first, with aid also being brought into Gaza.
A senior Hamas commander, Taher al-Nunu, said they wanted a full and comprehensive ceasefire, not a temporary truce, although it was unclear whether Hamas officials had received the Qatari text. Nunu told AFP that once the fighting had stopped, “the remaining details can be discussed” including the release of hostages.
Israel called the Paris talks "constructive" but pointed to "significant gaps that the parties will continue to discuss", while US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, "there is a lot of work to do".
The urgency of a ceasefire is growing in Gaza as people in the territory face increasingly dire humanitarian conditions after nearly four months of war. Twenty international aid groups said they were “outraged” by the suspension of funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.
Several top donors including the US and Germany have suspended funding over Israel's claims that some UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.
A UNRWA source said the funding freeze had not yet had any practical effect. But if donors “absolutely stop supporting UNRWA, it would be a major disaster,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Hoang Hai (according to AFP, CNA)
Source
Comment (0)