Clashes broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants across the Gaza Strip over the weekend, as mediators intensified talks over a possible ceasefire to release hostages held by Hamas and provide some relief during Ramadan to the ravaged sector.
But the odds of reaching any truce seem uncertain, with Israel saying it plans, in parallel, to expand its campaign to destroy Hamas, while the Islamic Movement holds firm on its demand for a permanent end to the war going on for nearly five months.
Residents said Israeli forces bombarded several areas in the sector as tanks invaded Beit Lahia and soldiers and armed forces fought ongoing battles in Gaza City’s Olive Sector in the northern occupied early hours of the attack.
At least 86 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli raids since Saturday, paramedics said Sunday. The Israeli army said two soldiers were killed in fighting in southern Gaza and that its forces killed or captured Palestinian gunmen in Olives and elsewhere.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting of the Military Cabinet late on Saturday evening to brief intelligence chiefs who returned from a meeting with Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators in Paris about a possible second ceasefire in Gaza.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” program that negotiators from the U.S., Egypt, Qatar and Israel “come to an agreement” on the outlines of the hostage deal during the talks in Paris.
Sullivan said the deal was still being negotiated, adding that there should be indirect talks between Qatar and Egypt with enthusiasm.
Netanyahu told C Network’s ‘Face the Nation’ show. B. S It is not yet clear whether an agreement on hostages will be reached in the talks, and refused to discuss details but said Hamas needs to make more logical demands.
And he said “they are on another planet. But if they come to a reasonable position, then yes we will have a hostage deal. I hope so”.
Sami Abu Zahri, a senior official in Hamas, said Netanyahu’s statements cast shadows of doubt on Israel’s willingness to reach an agreement.
Abu Zahri told Reuters that Netanyahu’s statements showed he was not worried about reaching an agreement and accused the Israeli leader of wanting to “continue negotiations under bombing and bloodshed of (Palestinians).”
Doha talks this week
Egyptian security sources said there will be more talks this week in Doha, with mediators making shuttle flights between Hamas and Israeli delegates, and a follow-up tour of Cairo. He did not want immediate confirmation of that from Israel, Hamas or Qatar.
The first stop of fighting in November saw the release of about half 253 people held by Hamas during a wave of cross-border killings on October 7 that sparked the war.
In that deal, Israel released three times as many Palestinians from its security prisons and infiltrated more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israeli media reported, citing unnamed officials, that there is a framework to return about a third of the 130 remaining hostages during a six-week truce that includes the holy month of Ramadan. And there was no official confirmation from either side.
Palestinian officials said Hamas insists that Israel stop the attack and withdraw its troops under any agreement.
Israel has shown its intention to move to one of the last cities where Hamas, which it has vowed to destroy, retains intact forces.
“We are working on achieving another framework for the release of our kidnappers, as well as completing the elimination of Hamas brigades in Rafah,” Netanyahu said on Facebook, referring to the town in far-southern Gaza near the border with Gaza and Egypt.
Israel’s security cabinet will this week agree on military plans for Rafah, including the evacuation of more than a million displaced Palestinian civilians who were sheltering there, whose fate of global powers is concerned.
Medical officials in Gaza say nearly 30,000 Palestinians were killed in the war. The October 7 raid by Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel, which also lost 241 soldiers in the ensuing ground fighting in Gaza, according to official statistics.