The United States, supported by Arab mediators from Egypt and Qatar, intensified efforts on Wednesday to broker a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, aiming to end the 14-month-long conflict in Gaza. As talks continued, medics reported that Israeli airstrikes had killed at least 20 Palestinians overnight.
A Palestinian official involved in the negotiations stated that the gap between the two sides had narrowed on most of the agreement’s clauses. However, Israel introduced conditions that Hamas rejected, though the details were not disclosed.
On Tuesday, sources close to the Cairo-based talks revealed that a deal on a ceasefire and a potential exchange of hostages and prisoners might be reached in the coming days. According to medics, Israeli airstrikes targeted several areas in Gaza, including Beit Lahiya in the north, where 10 people were killed, and Gaza City, Nuseirat, and Rafah, with six others reported dead. Four people were also killed in an airstrike on Beit Hanoun.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to the reports. Since October, Israeli forces have been operating in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya, and the nearby Jabalia camp in an effort to prevent Hamas militants from reorganizing. Palestinians have accused Israel of attempting “ethnic cleansing” to create a buffer zone along Gaza’s northern edge, an allegation Israel denies.
The Palestinian health ministry does not differentiate between combatants and non-combatants in its daily death toll, and Hamas does not disclose its casualties.
The Israeli military reported striking Hamas militants in Jabalia who were allegedly planning an imminent attack on Israeli forces. Later, Israeli shelling damaged Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, injuring seven medics and one patient. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on this incident.
In Bureij camp in central Gaza, Palestinian families began evacuating certain districts after the Israeli military issued new orders, warning of Palestinian rocket fire from the area.
Ceasefire Talks Gaining Momentum
Mediators from the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar have been pushing hard to reach an agreement before U.S. President Joe Biden’s term ends next month. In Jerusalem, Israeli President Isaac Herzog met with Adam Boehler, a U.S. envoy for hostage affairs. Former President Donald Trump has warned that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas does not release its hostages by January 20, when he returns to the White House.
CIA Director William Burns was set to meet with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha on Wednesday to address the remaining issues between Israel and Hamas. The CIA declined to comment on the talks.
Israeli negotiators were in Doha on Monday to work on bridging gaps in a deal proposed by Biden in May. Despite several rounds of negotiations over the past year, no deal has been reached, with Israel insisting on retaining a military presence in Gaza and Hamas demanding that Israeli troops withdraw before any hostages are released.
The war in Gaza, which began after a Hamas-led attack on Israeli communities that killed around 1,200 people and resulted in over 250 hostages being taken, has caused widespread devastation. Over 45,000 Palestinians have been killed, and the majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, with large parts of the enclave in ruins.