Hamas leader visits Egypt amid ceasefire talks

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, usually only appears in public diplomacy when diplomacy is unlikely to progress. He last visited Egypt in early November, before the announcement of the first week-long ceasefire, which saw 110 of the 240 hostages released.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller Palestinian militant group also holding hostages in Gaza, has said its leader will also visit Egypt in the coming days to negotiate a potential end to the conflict.

The delegations discussed the possibility of releasing hostages still held by Palestinian Islamist militants in Gaza in a new truce and the possibility of Israel releasing prisoners in response to the hostage releases, a source said.

Israel has been adamant that the wounded women and men hostages be freed, the source said. Palestinians held on serious charges could also be freed by Israel.

US President Joe Biden said late Wednesday that he did not expect a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas to be signed in the near future, but added: “We are still moving forward.”

A UN Security Council vote on boosting aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip has been delayed at the request of the United States, diplomats say.

Nearly 20,000 people have been confirmed dead by Gaza's Health Ministry , with thousands still trapped under the rubble. Israel claims Hamas killed 1,200 people in the October 7 attack.

Netanyahu rejects calls for ceasefire

There are still many disagreements between the two sides on the ceasefire agreements. Hamas opposes the proposal of further ceasefire agreements and insists that it will only agree to indefinite ceasefires. In contrast, Israel opposes indefinite ceasefire agreements and insists that it will only agree to humanitarian ceasefires until Hamas is defeated.

“Hamas remains firm: they have no desire for a humanitarian truce. Hamas wants a complete end to Israel’s war in Gaza,” a Palestinian official said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed that the war will only end when Hamas is destroyed, all hostages are freed and Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.

“Those who think we will stop are not looking at reality… Every Hamas terrorist, from the first to the last, will die,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Israel is facing growing pressure from its Western allies to rein in its military campaign in Gaza.

World - Hamas leader visits Egypt amid ceasefire talks — Photo: IDF.

The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has stepped up calls this week to scale back the all-out war to a campaign focused on Hamas leadership and end what Mr. Biden described as “indiscriminate bombing” that has caused civilian casualties.

The war is also spreading across the region, after Yemen’s Houthi movement launched missiles and drones at commercial shipping in the Red Sea in a show of support from Iran’s proxy militias for Palestinians fighting Israel. The US this week offered a number of options in response to the attacks.

On Wednesday, Houthi leaders warned they would attack US warships if their forces were attacked by Washington.

War escalates

In Gaza, Reuters filmed victims of Israeli bombings, including at least two children covered in blood and dust, being brought to Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. In the hospital morgue, women in black robes wept over rows of bodies in black bags covered with white sheets.

At least 20 people were killed in Israeli air strikes on two houses in Khan Younis, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank said.

Since the ceasefire expired on December 1, the war has escalated to a new level, and the ground campaign that was previously only carried out in northern Gaza has been extended to the entire territory of the enclave.

International aid organizations say Gaza has been pushed to the brink of disaster by widespread devastation, leaving 90% of the population homeless, many malnourished, lacking clean water and medical assistance.

In northern Gaza, which Israeli forces said they had conquered last month, fighting continued with increasing intensity. Flames and smoke were visible from across the Israeli border fence after Israeli planes struck the area early in the morning.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli forces attacked an ambulance warehouse in Jabalya, a refugee camp that has been under fire for weeks. There are 127 people at the facility, including staff, evacuees and the wounded.

In the south, where most civilians are taking refuge after fleeing other areas, fighting is intensifying around the central city of Khan.

Younis, after Israeli forces launched an attack on part of the area.

Hamas has waged guerrilla warfare based on a network of tunnels where it keeps soldiers and weapons.

The Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said on Wednesday that its fighters had killed 25 Israeli soldiers and wounded dozens more in the previous 72 hours in Gaza. A spokesman for Al Qassam said Hamas fighters had attacked Israeli troops head-on and set up booby traps in two tunnels and a house. Reuters could not immediately verify the claims.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced that its soldiers had discovered a network of tunnels, accessible via a spiral staircase and an elevator, deep under central Gaza City from homes belonging to Yahya Sinwar and other senior Hamas members. The force said Hamas used the tunnels “for daily movement.”

Nguyen Quang Minh (according to Reuters)

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