Dozens killed in Gaza amid hopes of ceasefire – DW – 01/15/2025

United States General Michael Kurilla is in Israel for talks with his Israeli counterpart Herzi Halevi, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

“Commanders held a strategic meeting that focused on regional situational assessments and examined courses of action to address threats and developments in the Middle East,” it said in a statement. General Kurilla reached the area on Monday.

General Kurilla is the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) which oversees US operations in the Middle East.

An official told AFP news agency on condition of anonymity that representatives of Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian militant group affiliated with Hamas in Gaza, have joined ceasefire talks.

“A high-ranking delegation of Islamic Jihad arrived in Doha on Tuesday evening,” the official said. “Discussions are ongoing, focusing on mechanisms to implement the ceasefire agreement and the names of Palestinian prisoners included in the exchange agreement,” he said.

Despite ongoing ceasefire talks in Qatar, 24 more people were killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night.

The death toll in Palestine rose by 62 in the past 24 hours and to 46,707 in the entire conflict, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the defeated enclave.

The Israeli military said it carried out several “precision” strikes against “terrorist operations” overnight, but Gaza’s civil defense agency said the dead included three teenagers and a seven-year-old boy.

The agency said a family home was attacked in Deir al-Balah, while seven people were killed in an attack on a school building that was being used as a shelter for displaced civilians.

The current war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly incursion into Israeli territory, killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostages. Israel’s counter-offensive in Gaza has devastated much of the area and resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians.

Talks were underway in Doha, Qatar on Wednesday, as mediators made a last-ditch effort to agree a ceasefire and hostage-exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.

Qatar, Egypt and the United States are stepping up efforts this week for a force that would end hostilities in the Gaza Strip, lead to the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the return of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

US President Joe Biden and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on both sides to show “resilience”, after which a Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman said talks were in their “final stages” and an agreement could be reached “very soon”. But can reach.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a meeting with top security officials late Tuesday to discuss the deal, while Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar insisted there was “sincere effort on our part to reach an agreement.” There is a desire.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “the ball is now in Hamas’ court,” adding that if the Palestinian militant group agrees, “the deal is ready to be done and implemented.”

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that Hamas “has accepted a draft agreement” but also quoted an Israeli official as saying that details were still “being finalized.”

“It’s right on the brink. It’s closer than ever,” Secretary of State Blinken said.

mf/ab (AFP, Reuters, AP, dpa)