With hopes growing that Israel and the Palestinian militant group may be creeping toward another truce and hostage release arrangement in the Gaza war, the leader of Hamas traveled to Egypt on Wednesday.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, who is based in Qatar, has arrived in Cairo to hold talks over “aggression in the Gaza Strip and other matters,” according to a statement from the organization.
According to a source close to the organization, he was scheduled to meet with Egypt’s spy chief to discuss “stopping the aggression and the war to prepare an agreement for the release of prisoners.”
The source stated that Haniyeh, who had previously met Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Qatar, was leading a “high-level delegation” to Egypt, which serves as a regular go-between for Israel and the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had told hostage families late Tuesday that he had twice sent his spy chief to Europe in efforts intended to “free our hostages”.
“It’s our duty, I’m responsible for the release of all the hostages,” the premier told the relatives of some of the 129 captives still believed to be held in Gaza.
“Saving them is a supreme task.
“I have just sent the head of Mossad to Europe twice to promote a process to free our hostages. I will spare no effort on the subject, and our duty is to bring them all back.”
Mossad Director David Barnea visited Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and CIA director Bill Burns in Europe, according to a report published on Monday by the US news outlet Axios.
Supported by Egypt and the US, Qatar assisted in mediating a week-long ceasefire in November that saw the release of 80 Israeli hostages in return for 240 Palestinian inmates.
40 Israeli hostages, including women, children, and male non-combatants, would be released during a week-long truce, according to a source close to Hamas who spoke to AFP. This would be the main topic of discussion at the discussions in Egypt.
The source added that the proposals had been discussed between Israel and Qatar with knowledge of the US administration, and that the truce would be open to extension if agreement was reached on new terms for additional releases.
According to an AFP calculation based on Israeli estimates, the battle started on October 7 when Hamas terrorists suddenly emerged from Gaza, killing roughly 1,140 people in Israel—mostly civilians—and kidnapping over 250 more.
Israel launched a ground invasion and bombardment campaign after vowing to destroy Hamas. According to the health ministry controlled by Hamas in Gaza, 19,667 persons have died in this operation, the majority of them were women and children.
UN vote expected
“Ready for another humanitarian pause and additional humanitarian aid in order to enable the release of hostages,” stated Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday.
In the meantime, Islamic Jihad, a different militant Palestinian group, increased pressure on Israel by releasing what it claimed to be video footage of two hostages in its custody in Gaza.
After two earlier votes were postponed due to disagreements over phrasing, the UN Security Council was scheduled to vote later on Wednesday on a resolution advocating for a stop in the fighting, three diplomatic sources told AFP.
The latest version of the text calls for the “suspension” of hostilities, the sources said.
The US vetoed a previous ceasefire resolution, sparking condemnation by humanitarian groups, which urged more action to help civilians caught in the conflict.
For now, fighting was raging unabated after Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Tuesday that troops were expanding operations in southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis area.
“We must dismantle Hamas, and it will take as long as needed,” he said, as the army reported 133 soldiers had been killed since ground operations began in late October.
Hamas sources said Wednesday at least 11 people were killed overnight in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip.
In Khan Yunis, residents searched by hand through the rubble of a building completely flattened by a strike.
The house was “full of people, full of human beings, why did they bomb it? What’s the reason?” said one distraught young resident, Amr Sheikh-Deeb.
“We managed to remove some bodies, but where are the rest of them? What did these people do?”
The UN estimates 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced and concerns are growing about the limited ability of aid groups to help.
“Amid displacement at an unimaginable scale and active hostilities, the humanitarian response system is on the brink,” said Tor Wennesland, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East peace process.
Gazans are facing a perilous winter, and the UN children’s agency warned that “child deaths due to disease could surpass those killed in bombardments”.
The United States, while strongly backing Israel, has also urged it to protect civilians in Gaza.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron called on Israel to take a “much more surgical, clinical and targeted approach” in its battle against Hamas.
Red Sea attacks
Fears of a regional escalation have been aroused by the Gaza war, which has also seen Israel exchange lethal cross-border fire with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon who are backed by Iran.
In a show of solidarity for the Palestinians, Yemen’s Huthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, have fired missiles and drones at passing ships in the Red Sea that they claim are connected to Israel on numerous occasions.
As a result, major shipping companies have redirected their ships to travel the much longer route around Africa.
On Monday, the US announced the formation of a new multinational naval task force to guard the canal that leads to the Suez Canal, which is used by over 10% of the world’s trade.
America’s USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier is stationed there, along with warships from Britain, Canada, France, Italy, and other nations.
A senior Huthi official issued a warning, saying that any nation that opposes the rebels “will have its ships targeted in the Red Sea” and that the rebels will continue their attacks.