Over 120 individuals lost their lives within the last 24 hours due to Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, according to reports from the Hamas Islamist movement on Sunday. Hamas is contemplating a potential ceasefire in the Palestinian territory following nearly four months of ongoing conflict.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is gearing up for a Middle East tour to lend support to negotiations aiming to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza and orchestrate a new exchange of hostages held by Hamas in return for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
The Israeli military persisted in bombing Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, claiming it to be a location where Hamas leaders are concealed. The Gaza Ministry of Health reported 127 casualties within the Palestinian territory in the last 24 hours. Additional airstrikes were conducted in Rafah, near the Egypt border, as highlighted by an AFP correspondent.
Apprehensions are mounting concerning the potential of a military offensive in Rafah, a city where over a million displaced Palestinians are huddled in shelters and precarious camps, facing threats of shortages and epidemics.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that the army has dismantled “17 out of 24 battalions” of Hamas, emphasizing that “the majority of those remaining are in the southern Gaza Strip and in Rafah, and we will address them.”
On the diplomatic front, negotiations persist for a second, lengthier ceasefire compared to the one-week truce in November. The prior truce facilitated the release of approximately a hundred hostages detained in Gaza in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli custody.
Israel contends that 132 hostages remain detained in Gaza, with 27 declared deceased by the army. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, residing in Qatar, is anticipated to travel to Egypt to negotiate a proposed agreement drafted by Qatari, American, and Egyptian mediators. The proposal envisions a six-week ceasefire with the release of 200 to 300 Palestinians detained in Israel in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages, according to Hamas sources.
