Efforts towards a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war appear to be emerging again after a new proposal from the Palestinian militant group also called for more aid to Gaza, where the first food shipments by sea reached the coast.
Israel said it would send a delegation to Qatar for a new round of talks on a possible deal. They also put forward plans for a military operation in Rafah, where most of Gaza’s population has sought refuge from more than five months of war and shortages.
US charity World Central Kitchen said its teams had finished unloading nearly 200 tonnes of food, the first shipment to arrive in the new maritime aid corridor from Cyprus.
“All cargo has been unloaded and is ready for distribution in Gaza,” he said in a statement.
The Cypriot government said a second aid ship, the Jennifer, would leave soon, although World Central Kitchen later said bad weather made it difficult to predict when the ship carrying 240 tonnes of food would sail.
“Maritime weather reports indicate bad weather from Sunday until the end of next week – so exact sailing times for both ships to return to Gaza are not available at this time,” the charity said in a statement.
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The UN has reported particular difficulties in accessing northern Gaza to distribute food and other aid.
Residents said they were forced to eat wild plants and animal feed, and some attacked aid trucks that managed to pass through.
“Doctors report they are no longer seeing normal-sized babies,” said Dominic Allen, of the UN Population Fund, after visiting the area.
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God help us
With the situation worsening, donors are turning to shipping by air or sea.
Countries have begun daily air deliveries of aid to Gaza, while the new maritime corridor will be equipped with temporary docks built by the US military.
But air and sea missions are no alternative to ground deliveries, UN agencies say. Humanitarian activists cite the restrictions imposed by Israel as one of the obstacles they face.
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The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said at least 63 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours.
Earlier on Saturday, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra reported 36 deaths as a result of an attack on a house housing refugees in Nuseirat, central Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had targeted two “terror operations” in Nuseirat “throughout the night” without elaborating. It added that it was reviewing “the circumstances of the incident.”
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AFPTV images showed a building completely destroyed. Yussef Tabatibi said the survivors tried to save the dead using only their bare hands.
“What should we do? God help us,” he said.
Talks
In negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement and the release of hostages, Hamas has put forward a new proposal for a six-week ceasefire and an exchange of around 42 Israeli citizens. hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, an official from the Islamist group told AFP.
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Palestinian militants took around 250 Israelis and foreigners hostage during the Hamas attack that sparked the war on October 7.
Dozens of captives were freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November. Israel believes around 130 people are still in Gaza, including 32 people thought to be dead.
Hamas attacks resulted in around 1,160 deaths in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an official AFP tally.
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Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 31,553 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry.
Until Friday, Hamas insisted no more hostages would be exchanged without a permanent ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.
Now the militants say that during the six-week ceasefire, Israeli forces must withdraw from “all cities and populated areas” in Gaza, according to Hamas officials.
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The Hamas proposal also calls for more humanitarian aid, the official added.
Israel has so far rejected withdrawing troops from Gaza, saying such a move would be a victory for Hamas.
The White House said Friday it was “cautiously optimistic” about the prospects for a new ceasefire, but stressed that negotiations were far from over.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel would send a delegation to Qatar for a new round of talks.
Before leaving for Doha, representatives of the negotiating team held talks with army, intelligence and security commanders on Saturday evening led by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, his ministry said.
Israel did not attend previous talks in Cairo that failed to reach a ceasefire during the fasting month of Ramadan, which began on Monday.
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Fear of civilians in Rafah
The United States, which provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel, has been increasingly critical of Netanyahu over his handling of the war.
US President Joe Biden hailed unusually critical comments from Senate leader Chuck Schumer, who described Netanyahu as one of several “major obstacles” to peace and called for snap Israeli elections.
“I think he expressed serious concerns that are shared not only by him, but by many Americans,” Biden said.
Netanyahu’s office said on Friday that he had approved military plans to carry out an operation against Hamas in Rafah, where some 1.5 million people have sought refuge, many taking refuge in tents along the Egyptian border.
There is no timeline for the long-threatened operation, which Washington says cannot be supported without a “credible, achievable and workable plan” to protect civilians. (AFP/Z-3)
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