Hamas says latest ceasefire talks over

The latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks ended in Cairo after “serious and in-depth discussions,” the Hamas militant group said overnight, reiterating key demands that Israel again rejected.

After signs of progress, the picture appeared to darken when Israel closed its main crossing point to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza after Hamas militants attacked it. The defense minister claimed that Hamas was not serious about a deal and warned of “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other locations throughout Gaza.”

Israel did not send a delegation to the talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “we see signs that Hamas has no intention of reaching any agreement.”

Egyptian state media reported that the Hamas delegation left Cairo for talks in Qatar and will return to the Egyptian capital to continue negotiations later this week.

Another threat to the talks came when Israel ordered the closure of the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network, accusing it of broadcasting incitement against Israel. The ban did not appear to affect the channel’s operations in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from his government’s hardliners, continued to lower expectations for a ceasefire deal and called key Hamas demands, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from, “extreme.” Gaza and the end of the war.

That would amount to surrender after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that sparked the fighting, Netanyahu said.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an earlier statement said the militant group was serious and positive about the negotiations and that stopping Israeli aggression in Gaza is the top priority.

But Israel’s government again vowed to continue a military operation in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city on the border with Egypt, where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents now seek refuge from Israeli attacks. . Rafah is a key entry point for aid.

Kerem Shalom, now closed, is another. The Israeli military reported that 10 projectiles were fired at the crossing in southern Israel and said its fighter jets later attacked the source.

Hamas said it had been attacking Israeli soldiers in the area. Israeli television channel Channel 12 said 10 people were injured, three of them seriously. It was unclear how long the crossing would be closed.

The attack came shortly after the head of the UN World Food Program said there was a “full-blown famine” in devastated northern Gaza, one of the most prominent warnings yet about the cost of the restrictions. to the entry of food and other types of aid to the territory.

The comments were not a formal declaration of famine.

In expanded remarks when the full NBC interview was published, WFP chief Cindy McCain said the famine was “moving south” in Gaza and that Israel’s efforts to let in more aid were not enough .

“We need more capacity to be able to receive more trucks,” he said. “Right now we have a mass at the external border, enough trucks and enough food for 1.1 million people for about three months. We need to incorporate that.”

Gaza’s enormous humanitarian needs put further pressure on the search for a ceasefire.

The proposal that Egyptian mediators had presented to Hamas sets out a three-stage process that would bring an immediate six-week ceasefire and the partial release of Israeli hostages taken in the October 7 attack, and would include some form of Israeli withdrawal. .

The initial stage would last 40 days.

Hamas would begin by releasing civilian female hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Netanyahu affirmed that Israel has shown a willingness to make concessions, but said it “will continue to fight until all its objectives are achieved.” That includes the stated goal of crushing Hamas. Israel says it must target Rafah to attack remaining fighters there despite warnings from the United States and others about the danger to civilians.

An overnight Israeli attack on the al-Attar family home in an urban refugee camp near Rafah killed four children, including a baby, and two adults, according to Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital.

In later remarks for Israel’s annual Holocaust memorial day, Netanyahu added: “We will defend ourselves in every way. We will defeat our enemies and ensure our security: in the Gaza Strip, on the Lebanese border, everywhere.”

The Hamas cross-border attack on October 7 killed about 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. Israel says the militants are still holding about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

Netanyahu is under increasing pressure from the families of some hostages to reach a deal that would end the war and free the hostages.

Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed more than 34,500 people, according to Palestinian health officials, who do not differentiate between civilians and combatants but say women and children make up the majority of the dead.

Israel blames Hamas for the civilian deaths, accusing it of embedding itself in residential and public areas.

The Israeli army says it has killed 13,000 militants, without providing evidence to support that claim.