By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and MELANIE LIDMAN (Associated Press)
JERUSALEM (AP) — International efforts to dealer a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas suffered a setback on Wednesday as Israel reportedly recalled its negotiating group and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of hobbling the high-stakes negotiations by sticking to “delusional” calls for.
Netanyahu’s remarks got here hours after native media reported that the Israeli chief had ordered an Israeli delegation to not proceed talks in Cairo, elevating considerations over the destiny of the negotiations and sparking criticism from the households of the roughly 130 remaining captives, a couple of fourth of whom are mentioned to be lifeless.
The family of the hostages mentioned Netanyahu’s determination amounted to a “death sentence” for his or her family members.
The mediation efforts, steered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, have been working to carry the warring sides towards an settlement that may safe a truce in the monthslong struggle, which has killed greater than 28,000 Palestinians, most of them ladies and youngsters, in line with native well being officers. The combating has destroyed huge elements of Gaza, displaced many of the territory’s inhabitants and sparked a humanitarian disaster.
“In Cairo, Israel did not receive any new proposal from Hamas on the release of our captives,” Netanyahu mentioned in a press release. “A change in Hamas’ positions will allow progress in the negotiations.”
Hamas officers had no speedy remark. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
On Tuesday, CIA chief William Burns and David Barnea, the top of Israel’s Mossad spy company, attended the talks within the Egyptian capital, however there have been no indicators of a breakthrough. The talks continued Wednesday at a decrease stage, at the same time as lethal violence endured each within the Gaza Strip and alongside Israel’s border with Lebanon, the place combating has simmered because the struggle broke out.
Israeli media reported Wednesday that Netanyahu advised his delegation to not return to the talks until Hamas softens its calls for.
The sides have been far aside on their phrases for a deal. Netanyahu has vowed to proceed the struggle till “total victory” over Hamas and the return of all of the remaining hostages.
Hamas has mentioned it won’t launch all of the captives till Israel ends its offensive, withdraws from Gaza and releases a lot of Palestinian prisoners, together with high fighters. Netanyahu has rejected these calls for, calling them “delusional.”
The plight of the hostages has deeply shaken Israelis, who see their prolonged captivity as a permanent image of the failure of the state to guard its residents from Hamas’ assault.
A gaggle representing the households of the hostages known as Netanyahu’s reported determination to maintain the delegation away from the talks “scandalous” and mentioned the households would arrange a “mass barricade” exterior the Israeli Defense Ministry until Netanyahu agreed to fulfill them.
Over 100 hostages had been launched throughout a weeklong cease-fire in November in return for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
The struggle, which erupted after Hamas launched a shock assault into Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 folks, largely civilians, and taking round 250 captive, floor on even because the talks seemed to be stalling.
Palestinians started evacuating the principle hospital within the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, in line with movies shared by medics Wednesday. Weeks of heavy combating had remoted the medical facility and claimed the lives of a number of folks inside it.
Now in its fifth month, the struggle has devastated Gaza’s well being sector, with lower than half of its hospitals solely partially functioning as scores of individuals are killed and wounded in every day bombardments. Israel accuses Hamas of utilizing hospitals and different civilian buildings as cowl.
Khan Younis is now the principle goal of a rolling floor offensive that Israel has mentioned will quickly be expanded to Gaza’ southernmost metropolis of Rafah. Some 1.4 million folks — over half the territory’s inhabitants — are crammed into tent camps and overflowing residences and shelters in Rafah, on the Egyptian border.
The movies of the evacuation in Khan Younis confirmed dozens of Palestinians carrying their belongings in sacks and making their means out of the Nasser Hospital complicated. A physician sporting inexperienced hospital scrubs walked forward of the gang, a few of whom had been carrying white flags.
The Israeli navy mentioned it had opened a safe route to permit civilians to go away the hospital, whereas medics and sufferers may stay inside. Troops have been ordered to “prioritize the safety of civilians, patients, medical workers, and medical facilities during the operation,” it mentioned.
The navy had ordered the evacuation of the hospital and surrounding areas final month. But as with different well being amenities, medics mentioned sufferers had been unable to securely go away or be relocated, and 1000’s of individuals displaced by combating elsewhere remained there. Palestinians say nowhere is protected within the besieged territory, as Israel continues to hold out strikes in all elements of it.
The Gaza Health Ministry mentioned final week that Israeli snipers on surrounding buildings had been stopping folks from getting into or leaving the hospital. It mentioned 10 folks have been killed contained in the complicated over the previous week, together with three shot and killed on Tuesday.
The ministry says round 300 medical workers had been treating some 450 sufferers, together with folks wounded in strikes. It says 10,000 displaced folks had been sheltering within the facility.
The struggle in Gaza has turn into one of many deadliest and most damaging air and floor offensives in current historical past. At least 28,576 Palestinians have been killed, largely ladies and youngsters, in line with Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants. Over 68,000 folks have been wounded within the struggle.
Around 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million folks have been pushed from their properties, giant areas in northern Gaza have been utterly destroyed and a humanitarian disaster has left 1 / 4 of the inhabitants ravenous.
In northern Israel, in the meantime, a rocket assault killed a feminine soldier, the Israeli navy mentioned, and wounded eight folks when one of many projectiles hit a navy base within the city of Safed on Wednesday.
Israel carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon in response, killing 4 folks, together with a Syrian lady and her two Lebanese youngsters, and wounding at the least 9, Lebanese safety officers and native media mentioned.
The U.N. youngsters’s company condemned the killings of “two innocent children” and known as “for the protection of children in times of war and at all times.”
Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which helps Hamas, have traded fireplace alongside the border practically each day because the begin of the struggle in Gaza, elevating the danger of a wider battle. Hezbollah didn’t instantly declare duty for the rocket assault.
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Shurafa from Rafah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
Find extra of AP’s protection at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Source: www.bostonherald.com”