Despite reports of progress in recent days, Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas exchanged blame on Wednesday over their inability to reach a ceasefire accord.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of reverting to previously agreed-upon terms, while Hamas claimed that Israel had set new demands.
According to Hamas, the occupation has imposed additional demands on detainees, departure, ceasefire, and the repatriation of displaced people, delaying the completion of the existing deal.
It further stated that the negotiations, which were mediated by Egypt and Qatar, were serious and that it was demonstrating flexibility.
Netanyahu retaliated with a statement, saying that the terrorist group Hamas is still lying, breaking agreements that have already been made, and interfering with the talks.
However, he continued, Israel will keep up its unrelenting attempts to free the hostages.
After a crucial week of negotiations, Israeli officials returned to Israel Tuesday evening from Qatar for discussions over a hostage agreement, Netanyahu’s office announced Tuesday.
In the last two weeks, the U.S. and Arab mediators Egypt and Qatar have intensified their efforts to reach a phased agreement. Agreements on the deployment of Israeli troops have been one of the difficulties.
Speaking to commanders in southern Gaza on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Israel will continue to maintain security control over the enclave, including through the use of buffer zones and command posts.
While Israel claims it wants to terminate Hamas’ control of the enclave first in order to guarantee that it won’t be a threat to Israelis, Hamas is calling for an end to the war.
Israel keeps up military pressure
In one of the cruelest operations of the 14-month conflict, Israeli forces continued to apply pressure on the northern Gaza Strip, encompassing around three hospitals in Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia, which are located on the northern border of the enclave.
Israel is accused by Palestinians of trying to establish a buffer zone in northern Gaza by permanently displacing its population. Israel disputes this, claiming that as its troops fight Hamas militants, it has ordered civilians to evacuate such regions for their own safety.
Health officials said that at least 24 Palestinians were killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza on Wednesday. They stated that one strike targeted a former school in the Sheikh Radwan district of Gaza City that was providing shelter to displaced residents.
According to the Israeli military, it hit a Hamas militant who was active in Gaza City’s Al-Furqan neighborhood.
The military said it was targeting another Hamas operator in the southern Gaza region of Al-Mawasi, an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone, where a number of Palestinians were killed and injured.
Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel set off the conflict, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli estimates.
Health officials in the Hamas-run enclave say that more than 45,300 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. A large portion of Gaza lies in ruins, and the majority of the 2.3 million people living there have been displaced.
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