Diplomacy ramps up for Gaza truce
Diplomatic efforts increased yesterday to reach a long sought-after truce and hostage-release deal in Gaza, as Israel carried out further air strikes and shelling on the Palestinian territory.
A new video of two hostages being held by Hamas prompted fresh outrage in Israel, where protesters have piled pressure on the government to reach a deal.
Global opposition to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has also been growing, with world leaders and aid groups warning that a looming Israeli invasion of the southernmost city of Rafah would lead to massive civilian causalities.
- Hamas delegation to visit Cairo today for talks
- 'Israel agrees to listen to US concerns before Rafah move'
- Death toll in enclave rises to 34,454
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas yesterday appealed to the United States to stop Israel from invading Rafah, which he said would be "the biggest disaster in the history of the Palestinian people".
The US -- Israel's main ally and weapons supplier -- was the only nation capable of preventing Israel from "committing this crime", Abbas told a global economic summit in Saudi Arabia.
Hamas said on Saturday it was studying a new Israeli counterproposal for truce and hostage release, a day after media reports said an Egyptian delegation was in Israel in a bid to jump-start stalled negotiations.
A Hamas delegation will visit Cairo today for talks aimed at securing the ceasefire, a Hamas official told Reuters yesterday.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate a new truce ever since a one-week halt to the fighting in November saw 80 Israeli hostages exchanged for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Hamas has previously insisted on a permanent ceasefire -- a condition that Israel has rejected.
However, the Axios news website, citing two Israeli officials, reported that Israel's latest proposal includes a willingness to discuss the "restoration of sustainable calm" in Gaza after hostages are released.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said yesterday that at least 34,454 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory during nearly seven months of offensive. The tally includes at least 66 deaths in the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said.
Meanwhile, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby yesterday said that Israel had agreed to listen to US concerns and thoughts before it launches an invasion of the border city of Rafah.
In central Gaza, Mohammed al-Hattab said he found his one-year-old boy in the rubble after an Israeli air strike hit the Nuseirat refugee camp over the weekend.
The boy is being treated for a fractured skull, while his two-year-old daughter's face was "completely disfigured" in the strike, he told AFP.
Israel carried out air strikes and shelling in Gaza overnight, hitting three houses in the southern city of Khan Yunis, an AFP correspondent said yesterday, also reporting strikes on Gaza City and Rafah.
The Israeli military said its jets struck dozens of "terror targets" including "launch sites, armed terrorists and observation posts".
Most of Gaza's population has taken refuge in Rafah, according to the UN, many in makeshift shelters after fleeing violence elsewhere.
Despite international outcry, Israel has vowed to invade the city, where Israel's military says Hamas is holding hostages.
On the side of a tent in Rafah on Saturday, a Palestinian wrote a message to the thousands of protesters on US university campuses.
"Thank you, students in solidarity with Gaza, your message has reached," it read.
A heated rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night was the latest held by protesters demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ensure the release of the hostages.
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