Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with his security cabinet on Thursday evening to examine new Hamas stances on a possible cease-fire in Gaza, according to a source in Netanyahu’s office, as fighting continues in the enclave.
Before the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu will consult with his ceasefire negotiations team, according to the source.
On Wednesday, Israel received Hamas’ answer to a proposal made public by US President Joe Biden at the end of May, which included the release of approximately 120 hostages held in Gaza and a cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.
A Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters that Hamas, the militant group that governs Gaza, had shown flexibility on several clauses, allowing a framework deal to be struck if Israel agrees.
Two Hamas officials did not immediately return requests for comment. Hamas has stated that any agreement must end the war and include a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel maintains that it will accept only periodic pauses in the conflict until Hamas is eradicated.
The plan calls for the gradual release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces during the first two phases, and the release of Palestinian prisoners. The third phase is rebuilding the war-torn region and reuniting the remains of deceased hostages.
HOPE RISES FOR PALESTINIANS
Palestinians in Gaza reacted cautiously, awaiting Israel’s answer.
“We hope this is the end of the war; we are exhausted and we can’t take any more setbacks and disappointments,” said Youssef, a father of two who is now relocated in Khan Younis, south of the enclave.
“Every more hour into this war, more people die, and more houses get destroyed, so enough is enough. I say this to my leaders, to Israel and the world,” he told Reuters via a chat app.
On Thursday, Gaza’s health ministry announced that the Palestinian death toll in the nearly nine-month war had surpassed 38,000, with 87,445 wounded. The health ministry’s numbers make no distinction between civilians and fighters.
According to Israeli estimates, the Gaza war began on October 7 when Hamas-led militants stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking approximately 250 hostages back into Gaza.
An Israeli attack hit a school in Gaza City, killing five Palestinians and injuring others, according to the Civil Emergency Service. Other Israeli strikes in Gaza City’s old quarter killed a woman and injured several others on Thursday, medics said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tanks shelled many villages on the eastern side of Khan Younis after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders on Tuesday, but the tanks have not moved into those areas, according to residents.
On Thursday, many Palestinians were still looking for refuge after the evacuation order, which encompassed the border city of Rafah and was described by the United Nations as the greatest such decree since 1.1 million people were ordered to leave the enclave’s north in October.
Residents of Khan Younis reported that several families slept on the road since they couldn’t find tents.
Israeli planes and tanks bombed the northern Gaza towns of Shejaia, Sabra, Daraj, and Tuffah, killing numerous Palestinians, including children, and injuring others, according to health officials.
The Israeli military said that its forces and planes killed dozens of militants in those regions, as well as in Rafah, southern Gaza, which Israel has described as Hamas’ last stronghold.
The war has caused a humanitarian crisis and damaged the vast bulk of the enclave’s medical facilities.
On Thursday, the Gaza health ministry announced that generators at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, the only large hospital still operational, would run out of fuel within hours and requested assistance from international humanitarian organisations in obtaining fresh supplies.
(Soruce: Reuters)
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