Israel, Hamas working toward new truce, prisoner deal
Hopes rose Wednesday that Israel and Hamas may be inching toward another truce and prisoner release deal in the Gaza war, following secret talks as the head of the Palestinian resistance group visited Egypt.
The leader of Hamas made his first visit to Egypt for over a month on Wednesday, a rare personal intervention in diplomacy amid what a source described as intensive talks on a new cease-fire to let aid reach Gaza and get prisoners freed.
Ismail Haniyeh, who normally resides in Qatar, typically intervenes in diplomacy publicly only when progress seems likely. He last traveled to Egypt in early November before the announcement of the only agreement on a cease-fire in the war so far, a week-long pause during which more than 100 prisoners were released.
A source briefed on negotiations said envoys were discussing which of the prisoners still held by Hamas in Gaza could be freed under a new truce agreement, and what prisoners Israel might release in return.
Israel was insisting that all remaining women and infirm men among captives be released, the source said, declining to be identified. Palestinians convicted of serious offences could be on the list of prisoners to be freed.
President Isaac Herzog also said Israel was “ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages”.
The bloodiest ever Gaza war began when Hamas attacked on October 7, killing around 1,140 people in Israel, and abducting about 250, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel launched a military campaign that Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry says has killed 19,667 people, mostly women and children, while also cutting off most water, food and power supplies.
Firm on battlefield
Ahead of the Egypt visit, Haniyeh held talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in the Qatari capital Doha.
During the meeting, he said the Palestinian resistance stands “firm on the battlefield” despite two and a half months of Israeli war crimes in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Haniyeh said the volume of the Israeli military’s aerial, naval, and ground attacks on the besieged Gaza has been unprecedented.
“The resistance has still stood firm and steadfast on the battlefield and inflicted heavy damage on the Zionist regime after 75 days of Israeli crimes and mass murders as part of its scorched-earth policy.”
Haniyeh also hailed the Palestinian nation for showing unique resilience and standing by the resistance while paying a heavy price for their position.
Amir-Abdollahian, for his part, stressed that Iran will continue its diplomatic efforts to support “the oppressed but powerful and patient Palestinian nation” in an attempt to end Israel’s criminal aggression and siege on Gaza and counter imposed pro-Israeli political schemes.
UN vote delayed
The UN Security Council was set to vote later Wednesday on a resolution calling for a pause in the conflict, diplomatic sources told AFP, after two previous votes were delayed as members wrangled over wording.
The latest version of the text calls for the “suspension” of hostilities, the sources said.
The US vetoed a previous cease-fire resolution, sparking condemnation by aid groups which urged more action to help civilians caught in the conflict.
The UN estimates 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forced to flee their homes, many sheltering in tents amid dire shortages and the biting winter cold.
“Amid displacement at an unimaginable scale and active hostilities, the humanitarian response system is on the brink,” said Tor Wennesland, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.
Israel, which declared a total siege on Gaza at the start of the war, has since allowed in aid trucks through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and, as of this week, its own Kerem Shalom crossing.
The UN’s World Food Progamme said Wednesday it had delivered food through the crossing in a first direct aid convoy from Jordan. Aid groups have warned the humanitarian goods fall far short of the dire need, and the UN children’s agency said that “child deaths due to disease could surpass those killed in bombardments”.
Inside Gaza, Reuters saw wounded victims of Israeli bombing, including at least two small children covered in blood and dust, carried into the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. At the hospital morgue, women wearing black abaya robes wailed by bodies laid out in black bags and white shrouds.