Israel - Hamas conflict: A French diplomat was killed, what are the conditions for negotiating the release of the hostage?

The situation between Israel and Hamas continues to be complex, with casualties rising following clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

(12.17) Khói bốc lên từ khu vực phía Bắc dải Gaza, gần biên giới với Israel sau đợt tấn công của Lực lượng phòng vệ Israel (IDF). (Nguồn: AFP)

Casualties from the Israel-Hamas conflict and related clashes continue to rise - Photo: Smoke rises from the northern Gaza Strip, near the border with Israel, after an attack by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). (Source: AFP)

On the morning of December 17, the French Foreign Ministry announced that a French diplomat had died after being wounded in an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attack on the Gaza Strip. Paris is now demanding that the Israeli authorities clarify the December 13 IDF airstrike on a building in Rafah that killed 10 civilians, including a French Ministry official.

The previous day, Hamas said it would not negotiate a hostage exchange until Israel ended its military operation in the Gaza Strip.

The statement read: “Hamas reiterates its position that it will not conduct any prisoner exchange negotiations until the campaign against our people is over.”

On the other side, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to suggest that his country was launching new negotiations to rescue hostages held by Hamas, after the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency met with the Prime Minister of Qatar – the mediating nation.

He argued that Israel's attack on Gaza helped secure an agreement to release a group of hostages last November.

In the West Bank, the situation continues to be complex. The Palestinian state news agency WAFA reported that four Arabs were killed when Israel bombed the Nur Shams refugee camp near the city of Tulkarem in the West Bank on the night of December 16 and the morning of December 17.

Specifically, a 16-year-old boy was killed after IDF soldiers opened fire at the Deir Ammar refugee camp northwest of Ramallah, the capital of the West Bank. In the Beit Ummar area, on the outskirts of Hebron, another young man was killed after clashes with the IDF. In Jenin, a man injured in an Israeli drone strike earlier this week has died.

For its part, Channel 12 (Israel) reported that the IDF raided the area after being attacked with explosives and asserted that those killed were all wanted by Israel.

Since the beginning of the week, the IDF has launched a three-day offensive against Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank with the aim of capturing individuals wanted by the Israeli government. Many Palestinians have reacted to this operation, causing several clashes that resulted in multiple deaths.

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