File : Israeli citizens are shown during a protest in Tel- Aviv against the Netanyahu government . They demanded a ceasefire and the return of the hostages
Hamas’ response to the latest plan for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages was “generally positive,” key mediator Qatar said Tuesday, as the militant group reiterated its demand for an end to the war, something Israel has thus far ruled out.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Al Thani announced the response during a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said he would brief Israeli leaders on it Wednesday when he meets with them.
Blinken, who met with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the day before, said the Saudis still have a “strong interest” in normalizing relations with Israel but require an end to the war and a “clear, credible, time-bound path to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
Qatar, which has long mediated with Hamas, has been working with the U.S. and Egypt to broker a cease-fire that would involve a halt in fighting for several weeks and the release of the over 100 hostages still held by Hamas after its Oct. 7 cross-border raid that ignited the war.
Hamas said in a statement that it responded in a “positive spirit” to the latest proposal. But the militant group said it still seeks “a comprehensive and complete” cease-fire to end “the aggression against our people.” Hamas is also expected to demand the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants, in exchange for the hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ruled out both demands, saying Israel is committed to continuing its offensive until “total victory” over Hamas and to returning all the hostages. He has also dismissed U.S. calls for the creation of a Palestinian state.
When asked by reporters, President Joe Biden said Hamas’ response “seems to be a little over the top” but that negotiations would go on.
A U.S. official said Blinken was told the Hamas response was delivered to Qatar just an hour before his meeting with the prime minister. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes negotiations.
Blinken acknowledged “there’s still a lot of work to be done.” But he said he still believed an agreement on the hostages was possible and that a pathway to more lasting peace and security in the region was “coming ever more sharply into focus.”
“We know the immense benefits that would come for everyone concerned with Israel’s further integration into the region, starting with the benefits for Israel,” Blinken said. “That’s something that Israelis will have to decide for themselves.”
“All of this requires difficult, hard decisions, made all the more challenging given the focus on the conflict in Gaza,” Blinken said.
Netanyahu’s office said the Hamas response had been delivered to Israel’s Mossad spy agency and was being “thoroughly evaluated.”
War grinds on in Gaza
The Palestinian death toll from nearly four months of war has reached 27,585, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count but says most of the dead have been women and children.
The war has leveled vast swaths of the tiny enclave and pushed a quarter of residents to starvation.
Hamas and other militants killed some 1,139 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted around 250. More than 100 captives, mostly women and children, were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
The Israeli military said Tuesday it was battling militants in areas across the Gaza Strip, including the southern city of Khan Younis. It said troops killed dozens of militants over the past day, without providing evidence.
An Israeli airstrike in the city hit an apartment building, killing two parents and four of their five children, according to the children’s grandfather.
Mahmoud al-Khatib said his 41-year-old son, Tariq, was sleeping along with his family when an Israeli warplane bombed their apartment in the middle of the night. The Israeli military rarely comments on individual strikes but blames Hamas for civilians deaths because it fights in residential areas.
Humanitarian Crisis persists
U.N. humanitarian monitors said Tuesday that Israel’s evacuation orders in the Gaza Strip now cover two-thirds of the territory, or 246 square kilometers (95 square miles). The affected area was home to 1.78 million Palestinians, or 77% of Gaza’s population, before the war.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, said in its daily report that the newly displaced have only about 1.5 to 2 liters (50 to 67 ounces) of water per day to drink, cook and wash. It also reported a significant increase in chronic diarrhea among children.
Parents of babies face a particularly difficult challenge because of the high cost or lack of diapers, baby formula and milk.
Zainab Al-Zein, who is sheltering in the central town of Deir al-Balah, said she had to feed her 2.5-month-old daughter solid food, such as biscuits and ground rice, well ahead of the typical 6-month mark because milk and formula were not available.
“This is known, of course, as unhealthy eating, and we know that it causes her intestinal distress, bloating and colic,” al-Zein said. “As you can see, 24 hours like this, she cries and cries continuously.”
Israel’s success in Gaza ‘very limited
Former commander of US Central Command, General Frank McKenzie, has described Israel‘s success to date in its military objectives in the besieged Gaza Strip as “very limited”.
“I think we do need to have an understanding of what we want as an end state. ” He stressed during a FACE THE NATION interview .
“They set themselves a goal of removing the political echelon and the military leadership echelon of Hamas when they went in. They have not been successful to date at doing either,” he told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday.
“You have to have a theory for what it’s going to look like when it’s over,” McKenzie said. “You need a vision of an end state when you begin a military campaign because everything you do then subtracts or adds to your ability to get to that point.”
He stated that Israel taking full control of Gaza was “the least desirable of all outcomes,” adding that Arab states would be needed to assist efforts in post-war Gaza.
Netanyahu under pressure to deliver
Photo Thousands of people take part in a protest rally against the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Israel on 03 February 2023. The demonstrators demanded the resignation of Netanyahu, whom they accuse of mismanagement and blamed him for the Oct. 7 attack that caught Israel by surprise with deadly consequences.EFE/EPA/ABIR SULTAN
Thousands of people gathered Saturday night in the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, and Beer Sheva, among others, to demand the end of Netanyahu’s mandate and the return of the 136 hostages who remain in the Gaza Strip after 120 days of war.
In Tel Aviv, in Hostages Square, relatives of those still held in Gaza and demonstrators called for the dissolution of the government, general elections and the immediate return of the hostages held in Gaza.
The rally was held under the banner of “120 days underground,” a reference to the days since the Oct. 7 attack and the Hamas tunnels in the Palestinian enclave where the prisoners are believed to still be held.
The Oct. 7 assault by the armed wing of Hamas resulted in the deaths of 1,139 people – mostly civilians – and the abduction of 240 others, according to the latest figures released by Israeli authorities.
Of the 136 people estimated to be still in the hands of Hamas after the deadly assault, at least 27 are suspected to have been killed by IDF , as a result of Israeli fire during the massive offensive on the Strip.
Both in Tel Aviv and in simultaneous protests in other cities, demonstrators also demanded the resignation of Netanyahu, whom they accuse of mismanagement and blamed for the Oct. 7 attack that caught Israel by surprise with deadly consequences.
In the southern city of Beer Sheva, about 40 kilometers (24 miles) from Gaza, around 400 demonstrators called for “early elections” and a change of government, the Israeli publication Haaretz reported.
“We deserve a leadership with broad and united support that will give hope and begin the healing process that this people and this country so desperately need,” demanded Moshe Radman Abutbul, one of the most prominent leaders at the forefront of protests against judicial reform in recent months.
Associated Press/ Ya Libnan
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