Progress in Gaza truce talks, but Israel downplays chances of ending war: Report

A delegation of the Palestinian militant group Hamas was in Cairo on Saturday as Egyptian state media reported noticeable progress in ceasefire talks with Israel though an Israeli official downplayed the prospects for a full end to the war in GazaPressure has mounted to reach a deal halting the nearly 7monthlong war A top UN official says there is now a fullblown famine in northern Gaza while Israel insists it will launch an offensive into Rafah the territorys southernmost city on the border with Egypt where more than 1 million Palestinians are shelteringEgyptian and US mediators have reported signs of compromise in recent days but chances for a ceasefire deal remain entangled with the key question of whether Israel will accept an end to the war without reaching its stated goal of destroying Hamas Egypts stateowned AlQahera News TV channel said Saturday that a consensus had been reached over many disputed points but did not elaborate Hamas has called for a complete end to the war and withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Gaza A senior Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations played down the prospects for a full end to the warThe official said Israel was committed to the Rafah invasion and that it will not agree in any circumstance to end the war as part of a deal to release hostagesThe proposal that Egyptian mediators had put to Hamas sets out a threestage process that would bring an immediate sixweek ceasefire and partial release of Israeli hostages and would include some sort of Israeli pullout The initial stage would last for 40 days Hamas would start by releasing female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by IsraelGershon Baskin director for the Middle East at the International Communities Organisation said it appears that Hamas has agreed to the framework that Egypt proposed and Israel has already accepted He said if Israel sends its top negotiators to Cairo after the Sabbath ends on Saturday evening that would signify its very serious The war has killed more than 34000 Palestinians according to Gazas local health officials caused widespread destruction and plunged the territory into an unprecedented humanitarian crisisThe conflict erupted on October 7 when Hamas attacked southern Israel abducting about 250 people and killing around 1200 mostly civilians Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others Israeli strikes early Saturday on Gaza killed at least six people Three bodies were recovered from the rubble of a building in Rafah and taken to Yousef Al Najjar hospitalA strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza killed three people according to hospital officials In the last 24 hours the bodies of 32 people killed by Israeli strikes have been brought to local hospitals Gazas Health Ministry said Saturday The ministry does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its tallies but says that women and children make up around twothirds of those killed The Israeli military says it has killed 13000 militants without providing evidence to back up the claim It has also conducted mass arrests during its raids inside Gaza Gazas Health Ministry urged the International Criminal Court to investigate the death in Israeli custody of a Gaza surgeonAdnan alBorsh 50 was working at alAwda Hospital when Israeli troops stormed it in December detaining him and others inside according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club In the Israelioccupied West Bank the Israeli military said it and Shin Bet had killed five terrorists in TulkaremPalestinian authorities said five people were killed by Israeli fire in the town of Deir alGhusun roughly 7 kilometers 43 miles northeast of Tulkarem In related developments this week Israel briefed Biden administration officials on plans to evacuate civilians ahead of the Rafah operation according to US officials familiar with the talksThe United Nations has warned that hundreds of thousands would be at imminent risk of death if Israel moves forward into the densely packed city which is also a critical entry point for humanitarian aid The director of the UN World Food Program Cindy McCain said Friday that trapped civilians in the north the most cutoff part of Gaza have plunged into famine McCain said a ceasefire and a greatly increased flow of aid through land and sea routes was essentialIsrael recently opened new crossings for aid into northern Gaza but on Wednesday Israeli settlers blocked the first convoy before it crossed into the besieged enclave Once inside Gaza the convoy was commandeered by Hamas militants before UN officials reclaimed itThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for 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