According to Palestinian and Egyptian sources, the latest round of discussions in Cairo aimed at reinstating the stalled Gaza ceasefire and securing the release of Israeli hostages yielded no significant progress.
Sources reported that Hamas maintained its stance that any agreements must result in a cessation of hostilities in Gaza.
Israel has resumed its military operations in Gaza last month following the collapse of a ceasefire that was established in January, asserting it will continue its campaign until Hamas is defeated.
The militant group has dismissed any suggestion of disarming.
An Egyptian source informed Reuters that the most recent proposal to prolong the truce would require Hamas to release a greater number of hostages.
Israeli minister Zeev Elkin, who is part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, stated on Army Radio that Israel is pursuing the release of approximately ten hostages, an increase from Hamas’s earlier agreement to release five.
The Egyptian source indicated that Hamas has requested additional time to respond to the latest proposal.
“Hamas is open to discussion, but it seeks assurances that Israel agrees to initiate discussions on the second phase of the ceasefire agreement,” the Egyptian source remarked, which aims to conclude the conflict.
During the initial six-week phase of the ceasefire that began in January, Hamas released 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
However, the second phase, intended to commence at the beginning of March and terminate the war, did not materialize.
Since the resumption of military actions last month, Israeli forces have killed over 1,500 Palestinians, predominantly civilians, and displaced hundreds of thousands, seizing extensive territories and enforcing a total blockade on all supplies to the entire enclave.
Currently, 59 Israeli hostages are believed to be held by the militants, with Israel estimating that up to 24 of them are still alive.
Israeli airstrikes in Gaza persist.
Palestinians have reported that the recent surge of Israeli attacks following the collapse of the ceasefire has been among the most lethal and intense of the conflict, impacting a weary population struggling to survive in the remnants of the enclave.
In Jabalia, a community situated on Gaza’s northern outskirts, rescue workers clad in orange vests attempted to break through concrete with sledgehammers to retrieve bodies trapped beneath a building that collapsed due to an Israeli strike.
Feet and a hand of a person were visible beneath a concrete slab, while men carried a body wrapped in a blanket.
On-site workers indicated that as many as 25 individuals may have perished.
The Israeli military stated that their actions targeted militants planning an ambush.
In Khan Younis in the south, a camp composed of makeshift tents was reduced to heaps of rubble following an airstrike.
Families returned to sift through the debris in search of personal belongings.
“We used to live in houses. They were destroyed. Now, our tents have been destroyed too. We don’t know where to go,” expressed Ismail al-Raqab, who returned to the area after his family evacuated ahead of the dawn raid.
The leaders of the two Arab nations spearheading the ceasefire mediation efforts, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, convened in Doha yesterday.
The Egyptian source stated that President Sisi called for further international guarantees for a truce agreement, beyond those already provided by Egypt and Qatar.
Meanwhile, the European Union has announced a new three-year financial assistance package for the Palestinians amounting to €1.6 billion.
“We are enhancing our support to the Palestinian people. €1.6 billion until 2027 will aid in stabilizing the West Bank and Gaza,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated on X.
US President Donald Trump, supportive of Israel’s decision to resume its military campaign and advocating for the evacuation of the Palestinian populace from Gaza, mentioned last week that progress was being made in the efforts to bring back the hostages.
The ongoing conflict was ignited by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which resulted in 1,200 casualties and 251 individuals taken hostage to Gaza, based on Israeli figures.
Since that date, over 50,900 Palestinians have reportedly lost their lives in the Israeli offensive, as per local health authorities.
