Authors: Nidal Mughrabi and Daoud Abu Alqas
CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Palestinian militant group Hamas on Thursday of making demands in talks for a possible ceasefire in Gaza that contradict a Washington-brokered framework agreement.
As Netanyahu spoke, some Gaza City residents were trapped in their homes and bodies lay uncollected in the streets, with Hamas saying a new onslaught of Israeli attacks could undermine prospects for a ceasefire.
Washington is pushing for a peace deal in talks between Egypt and Qatar to end the Gaza war, now in its tenth month. Netanyahu’s office said the head of Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency was traveling to Cairo for talks.
Speaking at a military ceremony in Israel, Netanyahu said: “I am committed to the framework agreement for the release of the hostages, but Hamas murderers insist on violating the framework agreement, which endangers Israel.”
He did not say what those requests were.
In Washington, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said many details still needed to be ironed out before a deal could be reached.
“It’s a long way from closure if we can get it closed. So I don’t want to say it’s right around the corner, but if everyone takes it we’re willing to get this done,” Sullivan told reporters. “
The Palestinian Islamist militant group said in a statement that mediators had not provided it with an update on progress in negotiations since last week’s concessions to a U.S.-backed Israeli peace proposal.
Residents of Gaza City say this week’s attack rivals one of the fiercest battles of the war, which devastated the enclave’s oldest and largest settlement in the first weeks of last year.
Gaza City, home to more than a quarter of Gaza’s pre-war residents, was mostly razed to the ground in late 2023, but hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have returned to their homes amid the rubble. They have now been ordered to evacuate again by the Israeli military. Many people said they wouldn’t go.
“We will die but will not leave the south. We have endured nine months of hunger and bombs and we are ready to die as martyrs here,” Muhammad Ali, 30, said via text message.
Ali’s family has been moved around the city several times, and he said they have been short of food, water and medicine.
“The occupying forces (Israel) are bombing Gaza City as if the war has started all over again. We hope there will be a ceasefire soon, but if not, then it is God’s will.”
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said there were reports that people were trapped in their homes and others were killed in the Tel Al Hawa and Sabra districts of Gaza City, with rescue workers unable to reach them.
Civilian emergency services said at least 30 people were estimated to have died in the Tel Al-Hawa and Rimal areas, but bodies could not be recovered from the streets there.
The Israeli army on Wednesday told residents of Gaza City to use two “safe routes” heading south. Some posted a hashtag on social media: “We are not leaving.”
When asked by Reuters to comment on its operations in Gaza City, the Israeli military said in a statement that its forces were working to dismantle Hamas’ capabilities and that it “follows international law and takes feasible measures.” preventive measures to mitigate civilian harm”. It said this was not the case with Hamas.
Hamas: Israel is stalling
The talks between Qatar and Egypt come after Hamas made important concessions last week, accepting that a truce could begin and release some hostages without Israel first agreeing to end the war.
In a statement on Thursday, the group accused Israel of “trailing for time to drag out this round of negotiations, as it has done in previous rounds,” with all talks ending since a week-long truce in November. Ended in failure.
Just east of Gaza City, in the suburb of Shejaya, residents are walking back to a desolate moonscape of destroyed buildings after Israeli forces withdrew after a two-week offensive.
The area’s main cemetery has been bulldozed by the army. People on bicycles pushed supplies across rubble-strewn tracks, past the burned and exploded remains of Israeli armored vehicles.
“After 15 days we returned to Shejaia. You can see the destruction. They didn’t spare anything, not even the trees, there was a lot of greenery in the area. What’s the crime of stones and trees? What’s my crime as a civilian?” “?” ” resident Hatem Taye told Reuters amid the rubble.
“There are dead bodies of civilians there. What’s the crime of civilians? Who are you fighting?”
Israel launched an attack on Gaza last year after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli statistics.
Since then, Israeli attacks have killed more than 38,000 people, according to medical authorities in Gaza.
