An assault by Israel across the Gaza strip claimed the lives of 29 individuals, among them were young quintuplets, according to local health personnel. This happened as Antony Blinken, Secretary of State for the US, arrived in the region with hopes of successfully finalising a peace settlement after a series of extended discussions. The US, Egypt, and Qatar, who are playing the intermediary role, have expressed that they are nearing an agreement after two days of negotiations held in Doha. However, Hamas showed an unwillingness to the new terms presented by Israel.
The suggested plan outlines a tripartite process wherein all the hostages taken during the Hamas attack on October 7th that led to the deadliest conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, would be released. In response, Israeli troops would exit Gaza and set Palestinean prisoners free.
The most recent Israeli attack included a strike on a residential building in Deir al-Balah which resulted in the death of a woman along with her six children, as reported by Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. These children’s grandfather, Mohammed Awad Khatab, clarified that his daughter was an educator and the youngest child was just a year and a half old. The remaining children were quintuplets aged 10, based on information from the hospital.
Further strikes on Deir al-Balah’s eastern side claimed at least four lives, according to a journalist associated with AP present at the hospital. An attack targeted on two apartments in Jabaliya, a northern town, killed two males, a female and her offspring, as confirmed by the Gazan health department. Central Gaza witnessed another two airstrikes that cost nine people their lives, as per Al-Awda Hospital’s statement. A single casualty was reported in Nuseirat as a result of a strike.
Four members of the same family, containing two females, were killed by a late-night strike near Khan Younis which is situated in the south, as affirmed by Nasser Hospital.
On Friday, an American representative stated that the mediators were starting to organise the execution of the most recent ceasefire proposal. In a similar vein, the office of Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, cautiously predicted that an agreement could be obtained.
An Israeli team was set to travel to Cairo for more discussions on Sunday, while Mr Blinken was due to have a meeting with Mr Netanyahu on the following Monday morning.
During a cabinet gathering, Mr Netanyahu indicated that there are some aspects where Israel might exhibit flexibility while there are unspecified sectors where they could not. “We are in the process of negotiations, it is not a situation in which we solely make concessions,” he iterated.
Hamas, on the other hand, has expressed skepticism about the impending agreement as the most recent proposal significantly deviates from a prior version they had accepted in principle. Israel’s insistence on a perpetual military presence along the Gaza-Egypt frontier and a delineation through Gaza where Israeli forces would carry out searches on Palestinians returning to their dwellings have been dismissed by Hamas.
To deter militants from getting arms and moving back to the north, Israel maintains that both of these are essential. – AP