The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced on Sunday that the latest round of ceasefire talks in Gaza concluded in Cairo after “in-depth and serious discussions,” reiterating key demands that Israel once again rejected.
After signs of progress, the outlook looked bleak after Israel closed its main crossing to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza after it was attacked by Hamas activists. The Defense Minister claimed that Hamas was not serious about reaching an agreement, and warned of a “strong operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places throughout Gaza.”
Israel did not send a delegation to the talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar, and Defense Minister Yoav Galant said, “We see signs that Hamas does not intend to go to any agreement.”
Egyptian official media reported that the Hamas delegation left Cairo for talks in Qatar and would return to the Egyptian capital for further negotiations on Tuesday.
Another threat to the talks came when Israel ordered the local offices of the Qatari satellite news network Al Jazeera to close its doors, accusing it of broadcasting incitement against Israel. The ban does not appear to affect the channel's operations in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from hardliners in his government, continued to lower expectations for a ceasefire agreement, describing Hamas's main demands as “extremist” – including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and an end to the war. Netanyahu said this was equivalent to surrender after the Hamas attack on October 7 that led to the outbreak of fighting.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement earlier that the movement is serious and positive about the negotiations and that stopping the Israeli aggression in Gaza is the main priority.
But the Israeli government once again pledged to continue the military operation in the city of Rafah, located in the far south of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt, where more than half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people are now seeking shelter from Israeli attacks. Rafah is the main entry point for aid.
The Kerem Shalom crossing, now closed, is another example. The Israeli army announced the firing of 10 shells at the crossing in southern Israel, and said that its fighter planes later bombed the source. Hamas said it targeted Israeli soldiers in the area. Israeli Channel 12 TV said that ten people were injured, three of them in serious condition. It is not clear how long the crossing will remain closed.
The attack came shortly after the director of the United Nations World Food Program confirmed the existence of a “massive famine” in the devastated northern Gaza Strip, one of the most prominent warnings to date of the toll imposed on the entry of food and other aid into the Strip. The comments were not an official declaration of famine.
In extended remarks following the broadcast of the full interview with NBC on Sunday, World Food Program chief Cindy McCain said famine was “moving its way south” in Gaza and that Israel's efforts to allow more aid in were not enough. “We need more capacity so we can get more trucks in,” she said. “We now have a block on the external border, about enough trucks and enough food to last about 1.1 million people for about three months. We need to get that in.”
The massive humanitarian needs in Gaza put further pressure on the pursuit of a ceasefire. The proposal presented by Egyptian mediators to Hamas outlines a three-stage process that would lead to an immediate six-week ceasefire and the partial release of Israeli hostages taken in the October 7 attack, and would include some sort of Israeli withdrawal. . The initial phase will last for 40 days. Hamas will begin releasing civilian hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Netanyahu claimed that Israel had shown its willingness to make concessions, but said that it would “continue fighting until it achieves all its goals.” This includes the stated goal of crushing Hamas. Israel says it must target Rafah to strike remaining fighters there despite warnings from the United States and others about the danger to civilians.
On Sunday, an Israeli raid on the Al-Attar family home in an urban refugee camp near Rafah killed four children, including an infant, and two adults, according to Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital.
In subsequent statements on the occasion of Israel's annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, Netanyahu added: “We will defend ourselves in every way. We will overcome our enemies and guarantee our security – in the Gaza Strip, on the Lebanese border, and everywhere.”
The Hamas cross-border attack on October 7 killed about 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Israel says the militants are still holding about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. Netanyahu is under increasing pressure from the families of some of the hostages to reach an agreement to end the war and release the hostages.
The Israeli air and ground offensive has killed more than 34,500 people, according to Palestinian health officials, who do not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but say women and children make up the majority of the dead.
Israel blames Hamas for the killing of civilians and accuses it of being present in residential and public areas. The Israeli army says it killed 13,000 militants, without providing evidence to support this claim.
