Gaza Ceasefire Talks Gain Renewed Amid Deadly Israeli Attacks | News on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israel, Hamas and international stakeholders are currently holding what may be the most serious talks in months over a possible ceasefire agreement in the besieged Gaza Strip, where Israeli strikes continue to kill dozens of Palestinians daily.

Hamas said in an official statement on Tuesday that given the “positive” talks held in Doha mediated by Qatar and Egypt, reaching a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement “is possible if the occupation stops imposing new conditions.”

Sources quoted in Israeli media also expressed increasing optimism in recent days that the strongest diplomatic push for a ceasefire deal since August could yield results.

“This optimism is cautious because we have been here before and efforts have been scuttled at the last minute due to new conditions and other considerations,” Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said.

“As far as we know, the discussions at the moment are about details, about the names of those who will be released from Gaza and also the names of those who will be released from the Palestinian side. The outgoing and incoming United States administrations have a vested interest in the agreement, even if it does not end the war.”

At least 45,059 Palestinians have been killed and 107,041 others injured in the more than 14 months of Israeli attacks on Gaza, which began after a Hamas-led attack in Israel on October 7, 2023 left at least 1,139 people dead and more than 200 captured . Almost half of the prisoners have now been released as part of a week-long break in fighting last year.

In the US, President Joe Biden, Israel’s main military and political backer, vowed this week he would continue working to get the remaining prisoners out of the territory, while President-elect Donald Trump said there would be “hell to pay”. , if they are not released by the time he takes office in January.

Bill Burns, head of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is expected in the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments and meet Sheikh Mohammed, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to the US media portal Axios.

Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, told Knesset members on Monday that an agreement was “closer than ever before,” but clarified a day later that after defeating Hamas, the army was “maintaining security in Gaza with complete freedom of action.” “will control”.

“We will not allow a return to reality before October 7,” he said in a statement, adding that Israeli control over Gaza will be the same as over the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military takes off Many violent daily raids throughout the West BankPalestinians are regularly killed, wounded or arrested and their homes destroyed.

Hamas did not mention in its latest statement Israel’s insistence on maintaining control of Gaza even in the event of a deal, but previously said Israeli forces would have to withdraw from the enclave.

The group’s conditions previously included a withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor on the border with Egypt and the so-called Netzarim Corridor, which the Israeli military established to separate the southern and northern Gaza Strip, as well as an increase in humanitarian aid and the reconstruction of the Enclave.

Israel maintains the siege of the hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip

While discussions about a possible ceasefire agreement appear to be gaining momentum, numerous Israeli attacks continue across the Gaza Strip with devastating effects.

In some of their latest attacks on Wednesday, Israeli forces attacked and disabled the intensive care unit at the besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north, director Hussam Abu Safia told Al Jazeera.

There were also several casualties after Israeli forces bombed a tent in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

The humanitarian situation in the area remains dire as the Israeli military continues to block most aid deliveries, particularly in the north, which has been under a heavy siege and blockade for more than 70 days.

This came as the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to adopt a resolution on Palestinian statehood. 172 countries voted in favor and only eight – including Israel and the USA – were against.