Israel ‘prepared to release 800 Palestinians for 40 hostages’
In significant move forward in ongoing peace negotiations with Hamas, Israel said it was willing to discuss the return of Gazan residents to the north of the Strip.
Israel has made significant concessions in peace negotiations with Hamas, with Jerusalem reportedly prepared to release 800 Palestinian prisoners for the return of 40 hostages.
In a detailed document forwarded to Hamas, Israel has also said it was willing to discuss the return of Gazan residents to the north of the Strip, according to Channel 12 TV.
The broadcaster reports Israel anticipates a response from Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar in the next three days, and considers the prospects for a deal to be 50-50.
Other Israeli media suggests the number of Palestinian prisoners is closer to 700.
According to Channel 12, Jerusalem has stipulated its red lines would remain: that is, there would not be a complete return to the north of the Gaza Strip, a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip or a cessation of fighting.
Israel’s negotiating team, led by Mossad chief David Barnea, reportedly has the “mandate” it needs from the government to advance in the talks.
The offer comes as Israeli aides are due in Washington to discuss an “alternative” to a ground invasion in Rafah with the White House, and as UN chief Antonio Guterres called for a surge of aid into the besieged territory he said was stalked by “horror and starvation”.
Air and artillery strikes again rained down on Gaza where Israel has vowed to launch its planned ground offensive against Hamas militants in the crowded far southern city of Rafah, despite rising global concern and objections from the United States.
The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Sunday that another 84 people had been killed over the previous 24 hours, raising the total death toll in the territory during nearly six months of war to 32,226.
Palestinian children badly wounded in the latest bombardment were rescued from the rubble of collapsed buildings and rushed for urgent medical care to Al-Najjar hospital in Rafah.
Guterres, on a visit to Egypt, urged an end to the “non-stop nightmare” endured by Gaza’s 2.4 million people since Hamas sparked the territory’s worst ever war with its October 7 attack on Israel.
“Looking at Gaza, it almost appears that the four horsemen of war, famine, conquest and death are galloping across it,” the United Nations secretary-general said.
“The whole world recognises that it’s past time to silence the guns and ensure an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.” As UN and other aid agencies have warned of the threat of famine in Gaza, Guterres urged Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid via the Rafah border crossing where trucks were queued up.
Israel’s military blasted back on social media, saying the UN should scale up its logistics and “stop blaming Israel for its own failures.”
Air and artillery strikes again rained down on Gaza where Israel has vowed to launch its planned ground offensive against Hamas militants in the crowded far southern city of Rafah, despite rising global concern and objections from the United States.
The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Sunday that another 84 people had been killed over the previous 24 hours, raising the total death toll in the territory during nearly six months of war to 32,226.
Palestinian children badly wounded in the latest bombardment were rescued from the rubble of collapsed buildings and rushed for urgent medical care to Al-Najjar hospital in Rafah.
Guterres, on a visit to Egypt, urged an end to the “non-stop nightmare” endured by Gaza’s 2.4 million people since Hamas sparked the territory’s worst ever war with its October 7 attack on Israel.
“Looking at Gaza, it almost appears that the four horsemen of war, famine, conquest and death are galloping across it,” the United Nations secretary-general said.
“The whole world recognises that it’s past time to silence the guns and ensure an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.” As UN and other aid agencies have warned of the threat of famine in Gaza, Guterres urged Israel to allow in more humanitarian aid via the Rafah border crossing where trucks were queued up.
Israel’s military blasted back on social media, saying the UN should scale up its logistics and “stop blaming Israel for its own failures.”
Combat has flared for almost a week in and around Gaza’s biggest hospital complex, Gaza City’s Al-Shifa, which has been a refuge for displaced people and where Israel says Palestinian militants have been hiding out.
The Hamas government media office said 190 people had been killed in the Al-Shifa operation, and 30 nearby buildings destroyed.
The army said its forces have killed more than 170 militants and detained about 480 militants “affiliated with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organisations”.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said Sunday that Israeli forces were also besieging two other medical centres, the Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals in southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis.
The Red Crescent said messages broadcast from drones demanded that everyone in Al-Amal leave naked, while forces blocked the gates of the hospital with dirt barriers.
“All of our crews are currently under extreme danger and cannot move at all,” the Red Crescent added.
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