Israel and Hamas appear to be inching closer towards a deal for a ceasefire and a release of some of the hostages still being held by the militant group in Gaza, while the UN children’s agency has warned that 17,000 children have been left without families or been separated from them by the conflict.
Qatar, which has been mediating between Israel and Hamas, indicated that the militant group had given its initial support for a deal after weeks of delicate and secretive negotiations.
However, while an aide to Hamas’s political leader said the group had received details of the proposed deal, it had yet to reply.
A Qatari official later clarified to Reuters that there was “no deal yet” and that although “Hamas has received the proposal positively”, Qatar was “waiting for their response”.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Taher al-Nono, an adviser to the Qatar-based Hamas politburo chief, Ismail Haniyeh, said: “We cannot say the current stage of negotiation is zero and at the same time we cannot say that we have reached an agreement.”
According to reports in the Hebrew media and elsewhere, women, children and sick and elderly prisoners being held by Hamas would be released first, then female soldiers in the second phase, which would also result in an increase in humanitarian aid being allowed into Gaza by Israel.
Israeli ministers have been quick to voice opposition to the length of the proposed ceasefire, arguing that it would make it more difficult for Israel to return to offensive operations against Hamas.
With hundreds of thousands of people crammed into the city, many living in tents in unsanitary conditions and with little access to aid or medical care, on Friday the UN’s humanitarian office described Rafah as a “pressure cooker of despair”.
“I want to emphasise our deep concern about the escalation of hostilities in Khan Younis, which has resulted in an increase in the number of internally displaced people seeking refuge in Rafah in recent days,” said Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Laerke said: “Khan Younis has also come increasingly under attack and it’s been shocking to hear about the heavy fighting in the vicinity of the hospitals, jeopardising the safety of medical staff, the wounded and sick, as well as thousands of internally displaced people seeking refuge there.
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