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Tag: Israel-Hamas War

  • Hamas says ready to start Gaza ceasefire talks ‘immediately’

    Hamas says ready to start Gaza ceasefire talks ‘immediately’

    Hamas on Friday said it was ready to start talks “immediately” on a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, where the civil defence agency said Israel’s ongoing offensive killed more than 50 people.

    The announcement came after it held consultations with other Palestinian factions and before a visit on Monday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, where President Donald Trump is pushing for an end to the war, now in its 21st month.

    “The movement is ready to engage immediately and seriously in a cycle of negotiations on the mechanism to put in place” the terms of a draft US-backed truce proposal received from mediators, the militant group said in a statement.

    Hamas ally Islamic Jihad said it supported ceasefire talks, but demanded “guarantees” that Israel “will not resume its aggression” once hostages held in Gaza are freed.

    Trump, when asked about Hamas’ response aboard Air Force One on Friday, said: “That’s good. They haven’t briefed me on it. We have to get it over with. We have to do something about Gaza.”

    The conflict in Gaza began with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked a massive Israeli offensive aimed at destroying Hamas and bringing home all the hostages seized by militants.

    Two previous ceasefires brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States have seen temporary halts in fighting, coupled with the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

    Netanyahu earlier on Friday vowed to bring home all the hostages held in Gaza, after coming under massive domestic pressure over their fate.

    “I feel a deep commitment, first and foremost, to ensure the return of all our abductees, all of them,” he said.

    Trump said on Thursday he wanted “safety for the people of Gaza”.

    “They’ve gone through hell,” he said.

    – 60-day truce proposal –

    A Palestinian source familiar with the negotiations told AFP earlier this week that the latest proposals included “a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release half of the living Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip” — thought to number 22 — “in exchange for Israel releasing a number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees”.

    Out of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.

    Nearly 21 months of war have created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has recently expanded its military operations.

    The military said in a statement it had been striking suspected Hamas targets across the territory, including around Gaza City in the north and Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south.

    – Civil defence says aid-seekers killed –

    Gaza civil defence official Mohammad al-Mughayyir said Israeli strikes and gunfire killed at least 52 people on Friday.

    The Israeli military said it was looking into reports, except for a handful of incidents for which it requested coordinates and timeframes.

    Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency.

    In a separate statement, the Israeli military said a 19-year-old sergeant “fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip”.

    Mughayyir said the Palestinians killed included five shot while waiting for aid near a US-run site near Rafah in southern Gaza and several who were waiting for aid near the Wadi Gaza Bridge in the centre of the territory.

    They were the latest in a spate of deaths near aid distribution centres in the devastated territory, which UN agencies have warned is on the brink of famine.

    The US- and Israeli-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has distanced itself from reports of deadly incidents near its sites.

    – Displaced civilians –

    Mughayyir told AFP that eight people, including a child, were killed in an Israeli air strike on the tents of displaced civilians near Khan Yunis on Thursday.

    The civil defence official said eight more people were killed in two other strikes on camps on the coast, including one that killed two children early Friday.

    The Israeli military said it was operating throughout Gaza “to dismantle Hamas military capabilities”.

    The Hamas attack of October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

    Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 57,268 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

  • US, Egypt and Qatar call on Israel and Hamas to resume talks

    US, Egypt and Qatar call on Israel and Hamas to resume talks

    The United States, Egypt and Qatar have released a joint statement calling on Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage-release deal.

    The statement said the three nations had forged a “framework agreement” that had “only the details of implementation left to conclude”.

    Israel said it would send negotiators to the proposed talks, which are pencilled in for 15 August in Doha or Cairo. Hamas did not immediately respond.

    The renewed diplomatic push will be seen as an attempt to stop regional tensions from spiralling out of control, after Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated last week. Iran, blaming Israel, has vowed a response – though Israel has not commented directly on the killing.

    In a joint statement, the three nations invited Israel and Hamas to restart talks on 15 August “to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay.”

    “As mediators, if necessary, we are prepared to present a final bridging proposal that resolves the remaining implementation issues in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties,” it said.

    The statement was signed by US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

    It said the framework agreement was based on “principles” previously outlined by President Biden on 31 May – which would start with a full ceasefire and the release of a number of hostages – and endorsed by the UN Security Council.

    US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement on Thursday evening he had spoken with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to brief him on changes to US forces in the region and “reinforce my ironclad support for Israel’s defense”.

    “I also stressed the importance of concluding a ceasefire deal in Gaza that releases the hostages,” he said.

    Despite numerous rounds of talks, the challenge of reaching a ceasefire and hostage release agreement has so far proved elusive.

    Hamas is pushing for a ceasefire, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the conflict can only stop once Hamas is defeated.

    On Thursday, Israel continued its bombardment of the Gaza strip. Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defence force said it hit two schools, killing more than 18 people. The Israeli military said it had struck Hamas command centres.

    Any proposed talks could be made even more difficult by Hamas’ decision to elect Yahya Sinwar as its new leader, replacing Haniyeh.

    Sinwar, who Israel holds responsible for the planning and execution of the 7 October attacks, is seen as one of the group’s most extreme figures.

    Amid fears of an attack from Iran or its allies, Israel’s security cabinet met in an underground bunker on Thursday, instead of its usual meeting place, Israel’s Channel 13 reported.

  • Israel-Hamas war: Kenya supports proposal for immediate ceasefire

    Israel-Hamas war: Kenya supports proposal for immediate ceasefire

    Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has amplified Kenya’s support for a mediated proposal announced to end the Israel-Hamas war.

    Mudavadi said Kenya has noted the joint statement released by Egypt, the State of Qatar and the United States on the fighting between the State of Israel and Hamas.

    The statement, he said, broadly echoes the principles outlined on 31st May 2024 by the United States President Joe Biden and was in line with efforts by key stakeholders who are involved in a protracted mediation process for a ceasefire.

    “Kenya views the proposals contained in this statement as representing a critical way out of this complicated and intransigent conflict,” he said.

    The proposal is based on the following roadmap:

    • That in the first phase of the proposal there would be a 6-week ceasefire; withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza; release of a number of hostages and remains of Israel nationals in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners; the return of Palestinians to North Gaza; the entry of 600 trucks per day of aid; and the start of restoration of essential services.
    • That in the second phase there would be a permanent cessation of hostilities together with the return of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The parties would continue to engage in negotiations to finalize the arrangements for this second phase.
    • That the third phase would see the return of any remains of Israel nationals still in Gaza and the start of an internationally-backed multi-year reconstruction program.

    Implementation of the proposal will also help Israel families to re-unite with their kin who are currently held by Hamas as hostages and prisoners of war.

    Mudavadi said Kenya believes this proposal should only be the initial step in creating the conditions for self-determination for the Palestinian people and advancing a long-term two-state solution.

    In the short term, implementation of this proposal will bring immediate relief to the Palestinians who are currently facing a humanitarian catastrophe, hunger and widespread death.

    “Kenya re-affirms and reiterates its position that the only and most realistic solution to this conflict is for both sides to acknowledge each other and embrace a two-state solution,” he said.

    Mudavadi urged the two sides to accept the proposal in the interests of not only providing immediate relief but also creating the necessary conditions for long-term peace.

  • Children starving to death in northern Gaza – WHO

    Children starving to death in northern Gaza – WHO

    Children are dying of starvation in northern Gaza, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief says.

    Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency’s visits over the weekend to the Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals were the first since early October.

    In a post on social media, he spoke of “grim findings”.

    A lack of food resulted in the deaths of 10 children and “severe levels of malnutrition”, while hospital buildings have been destroyed, he wrote.

    The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza reported on Sunday that at least 15 children had died from malnutrition and dehydration at the Kamal Adwan hospital.

    A sixteenth child died on Sunday at a hospital in the southern city of Rafah, the Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported on Monday.

    Dr Tedros reported “severe levels of malnutrition, children dying of starvation, serious shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies, hospital buildings destroyed” in northern Gaza, where an estimated 300,000 people are living with little food or clean water.

    “The lack of food resulted in the deaths of 10 children,” he posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

    The visits were the WHO’s first in months “despite our efforts to gain more regular access to the north of Gaza”, he wrote.

    “The situation at Al-Awda Hospital is particularly appalling, as one of the buildings is destroyed,” he added.

    The UN warned last week that famine in Gaza was “almost inevitable”.

    A senior UN aid official warned that at least 576,000 people across the Gaza Strip – one quarter of the population – faced catastrophic levels of food insecurity and one in six children under the age of two in the north were suffering from acute malnutrition.

    And the regional director of the UN’s children’s agency, Unicef, said “the child deaths we feared are here, as malnutrition ravages the Gaza Strip”.

    “These tragic and horrific deaths are man-made, predictable and entirely preventable,” Adele Khodr said in a statement on Sunday.

    On Saturday, the US the US on Saturday launched its first airdrop of humanitarian aid into Gaza – including more than 38,000 meals.

    However, aid agencies have said these drops – which have also previously been carried out by the UK, France, Egypt and Jordan – are an inefficient way of getting supplies to people.

    The deliveries themselves have sometimes turned deadly. Last week, at least 112 Palestinians were reportedly killed when large crowds descended on lorries carrying aid while Israeli tanks were present.

    Israel said the tanks fired warning shots but did not strike the lorries and that many of the dead were trampled or run over.

    But this has been disputed by Hamas, which said there was “undeniable” evidence of “direct firing at citizens”.

    Some aid agencies have been facing difficulties with the authorities. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN’s main human rights agency in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA, on Monday accused the Israeli government of trying to “eliminate” its presence in Gaza.

    Israel has long accused different branches of the United Nations, including Unrwa, of bias and even of antisemitism. Several western countries, including the UK, have paused funding to UNRWA after Israel accused some staff of roles in the 7 October attacks.

    Mr Lazzarini said that this was not just in response to “neutrality breaches of some of the staff” but had a wider political motive, which included plans to “eliminate the status of refugees and make sure that this is not part of a final political settlement”.

    He added that dismantling his organisation would lead to the collapse of the entire humanitarian response on Gaza.

    The Israeli military launched a large-scale air and ground campaign to destroy Hamas – which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK, US and others – after the group’s gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on 7 October and took 253 back to Gaza as hostages.

    More than 30,500 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.

  • Gaza’s largest aid agency ‘desperate’ after funds paused

    Gaza’s largest aid agency ‘desperate’ after funds paused

    More countries have halted funding to the largest UN agency operating in Gaza, as the crisis deepens over the alleged role of some staff in the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel.

    Japan and Austria said they were suspending payments to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

    The US, UK, Germany and Italy are also among those who have suspended funding.

    UNRWA has told the BBC it is “extremely desperate” and that “the humanitarian needs in Gaza are growing by the hour”.

    The agency has sacked several of its staff over allegations they were involved on 7 October, when Hamas gunmen infiltrated Israel, killing about 1,300 people – mainly civilians – and taking about 250 others back to Gaza as hostages.

    More than 26,000 people – mostly women and children – have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched a major military operation in response, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry says. Another 1.7 million people have fled their homes, with many of them sheltering at UNRWA facilities.

    UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he is “horrified” by the accusations, but has appealed to donor countries to “guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations”.

    In a statement on Sunday, he said: “Of the 12 people implicated, nine were immediately identified and terminated by the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini; one is confirmed dead and the identity of the two others is being clarified.”

    But he said Gaza should not be penalised.

    An UNRWA spokesperson said that if funding was not resumed, the agency would not be able to continue its operations beyond the end of February.

    Announcing its decision to suspend payment, Japan’s foreign ministry said late on Sunday that it was “extremely concerned about the alleged involvement of UNRWA staff members in the terror attack on Israel”.

    It added that it had been “strongly urging” UNRWA to investigate the allegations “in a prompt and complete manner”.

    Japan is the sixth-largest donor to the agency, according to UNRWA’s 2022 figures.

    On Monday, Austria said it was following suit, calling for “a comprehensive, swift and complete investigation into the allegations”.

    Juliette Touma, the director of communications at UNRWA, said in a BBC interview that the allegations were “extremely serious” and that Mr Lazzarini had taken an “extraordinary measure” in immediately dismissing the staff members in question.

    “We are extremely desperate. It has come at a time when the humanitarian needs in Gaza are growing by the hour,” she said, adding that she had visited the territory herself last week.

    “People continue to be displaced. People are hungry. The clock is ticking fast towards famine.

    “We are doing everything possible to avert us from getting towards famine. But this lack of funding that we have been faced with now, when at least 10 of the largest donors have put a temporary pause on the funding, this is going to have very, very serious repercussions on what is, right now, the largest humanitarian operation in Gaza.”

    She said UNRWA had not seen the evidence, but the allegations were being investigated by the UN’s oversight office in New York.

    On Friday, an adviser to the Israeli prime minister told the BBC that the 7 October Hamas attacks had involved “people who are on their [UNRWA] salaries”.

    Mark Regev said there was also information showing teachers working in UNRWA schools had “openly celebrated” the 7 October attacks.