An Israeli delegation is expected to travel to Cairo in the coming days to discuss a possible Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
According to Arab media reports, Egyptian officials have drafted new truce proposals to end the 14-month war, following discussions with Hamas leaders who expressed their willingness to renew negotiations.
According to the Al Arabiya Saudi TV network, citing a Palestinian source, the new Egyptian proposal calls for an initial six-week ceasefire, enabling the reopening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt and the return of displaced Palestinians to the northern Gaza Strip.
The talks in Cairo follow the threat made on Monday by US president-elect Donald Trump that there would be “all hell to pay” if the 101 hostages, dead and alive, were not released by his inauguration in January.
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Hamas representative in Lebanon Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi said there are new circumstances and a new atmosphere that may help in the negotiations and perhaps it will be possible to reach a ceasefire. “We in Hamas always have doubts about the American position. And if they want to take certain steps, Hamas and the Palestinians yearn for an agreement that will end the war and we will do anything that serves the Palestinian interest.”
Speaking during a visit to an airforce base on Wednesday, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said that due to increased pressure on Hamas, there is now a chance to advance a hostage deal.
“Of course, in the future Hamas cannot control Gaza, we will not stop the war until we return all the hostages and achieve the objectives,” he added.
Mr Trump’s incoming senior Middle East adviser Massad Boulos told the French Le Point magazine: “The war is practically over. There is virtually no significant military activity. The only issue that remains is the hostages.” He said Mr Trump believes there should be no further delay in their release.
In Gaza, the fighting continued. Israeli tanks pushed into northern parts of the Khan Younis area in the south of the strip on and Palestinian medics said further Israeli air strikes had killed at least 47 people across the enclave.
Residents said tanks advanced one day after the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders, saying there had been rocket launches by Palestinian militants from the area.
With shells crashing near residential areas, families left their homes and headed westward towards the nearby humanitarian-designated area of Al-Mawasi. Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas left in Gaza and that most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced multiple times.
More than 44,500 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war. Some 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7th, 2023 and 251 were taken into captivity in Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
The Israeli army said its troops discovered an explosives and weapons laboratory in an apartment in the Jabaliya refugee camp. According to the statement, the forces destroyed RPG rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles and other weapons equipment found in the apartment.
According to Reuters, Hamas said it had information that Israel intended to carry out a hostage rescue operation similar to one conducted in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp in June and threatened to “neutralise” the captives if such an operation took place. It was reported that in an internal Hamas document from November 22nd operatives were instructed not to consider any repercussions over the killing of hostages, stating that Israel was responsible for the fate of the captives.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces has warned some 30 soldiers and officers who fought in Gaza to avoid travelling abroad, after pro-Palestinian groups filed complaints against them for alleged war crimes.
Eight soldiers who were visiting Cyprus, Slovenia, and the Netherlands were told to immediately return home over fears they would be arrested or questioned by the country they were visiting.
Israeli reservists who fought in Gaza are being advised to check with the foreign ministry regarding the level of danger in any country they wish to visit. — Additional reporting: Reuters.
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