Netanyahu hints Gaza ceasefire talks now focus on releasing all hostages at once

Jerusalem-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted on Tuesday that cease-fire efforts in Gaza are now focusing on a complete agreement that would publish the remaining hostages at the same time, rather than in phases.

Arab officials told the Associated Press last week that the mediators of Egypt and Qatar were preparing a new framework for an agreement that would include the release of all remaining hostages in one go for a lasting cease-fire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The long -standing indirect talks seemed to break down last month. But a delegation from Hamas arrived in Cairo for cease-fire talks on Tuesday, the State of State State Channel reported on Tuesday, a sign that the efforts were not abandoned after 22 months of war.

Israel has threatened to expand its military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza regions which it does not yet control and where most of the 2 million residents of the territory have sought refuge.

These plans have triggered an international conviction and criticism in Israel and could be intended to increase pressure on Hamas to reach a cease-fire. Activists still hold 50 hostages taken in the attack on October 7, 2023 which sparked the war. Israel believes that around 20 of them are alive.

‘I want them all’

In an interview with i24 News Network in Israel broadcast on Tuesday, Netanyahu was invited to be concluded on a partial cease-fire contract. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdelatty, told journalists that Cairo still wanted to advance a previous proposal for an initial 60-day ceasefire, the release of certain hostages and an influx of humanitarian aid before new talks on a sustainable truce.

“I think it’s behind us,” said Netanyahu. “We tried, we made all kinds of attempts, we crossed a lot, but it turned out that they were cheating on us.”

“I want them all,” he said about hostages. “The release of all hostages, both alive and dead – is the scene in which we are.”

However, he added that the requests of Israel had not changed and that the war will not end until all the hostages are returned and that Hamas has surrendered. He said that even, Israel will maintain an open security check in the territory.

Hamas has long called for a complete agreement, but says it will only publish the remaining hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, a sustainable ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The militant group refused to lay down its arms, as Israel asked.

The UN warns against famine, malnutrition

The United Nations on Tuesday warned that famine and malnutrition in Gaza have been at the highest level since the start of the war.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reported the warning of the World Food Program and said that the Gaza Ministry of Health told UN staff in Gaza that five people died in the last 24 hours of malnutrition and famine.

The ministry claims that 121 adults and 101 children died of causes linked to malnutrition during the war.

“In this context, humanitarian supplies entering Gaza remain well below the minimum required to meet the immense needs of people,” said Dujarric.

The UN and its humanitarian partners do everything possible to provide help to Gaza, he said, but still confronted delays and significant obstacles to the Israeli authorities which prevent food delivery and other essential elements on the necessary scale.

Activists led by Hamas have removed 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mainly civilians, in this 2023 attack. Most hostages were published in ceasefies or in other offers.

The air and soil offensive of Israel has since moved most of the population of Gaza, destroyed large areas and pushed the territory towards famine. He killed more than 61,400 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, who does not say how many fighters or civilians, but says that around half were women and children.

The ministry is part of the government managed by Hamas and with health professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on the victims of the war. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.

Israel says that he struck activists disguised as humanitarian workers

In a separate development, the Israeli army said it recently struck a group of activists in Gaza who were disguised as humanitarian workers and using a car with the International Charity World Central Kitchen.

The army said that it had made an air strike on men after having confirmed with the charitable organization that they were not affiliated and that the car did not belong to her.

World Central Kitchen confirmed that the men and the vehicle were not affiliated with it. “We strongly condemn anyone who pretends to be for world central cuisine or other humanitarian workers because it endangers civilians and humanitarian workers,” he said in a statement.

The army shared video sequences showing several men in yellow vests standing around a vehicle with the logo of the charity on its roof. The army said five of the men were armed.

The charitable organization, founded in 2010, sends teams that can quickly provide meals on a mass scale in conflict zones and after natural disasters.

In April, an Israeli strike killed seven workers in the central world in Gaza. Israel quickly admitted to having mistakenly killed humanitarian workers and launched an investigation.

In November, an Israeli strike killed five people, including a world worker in central cuisine who, according to Israel, was part of the attack on Hamas who sparked the war. The charitable organization said at the time that he did not know that the employee had a connection with the attack.