Future of truce talk uncertain as fighting continues in Gaza

A Hamas delegation will visit Egypt on Wednesday to discuss the framework agreement on a truce in the Gaza Strip issued by the recent Paris meeting while Israeli forces continue the offensive in Gaza.

The delegation will hold a meeting in the Egyptian capital of Cairo with Abbas Kamel, head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, a Palestinian source seeking anonymity told Xinhua.

The meeting in Egypt will discuss the outcome of the Paris meeting, which outlined several stages for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, said that Hamas received the proposal hashed out at the Paris meeting, which involves halting the violence in Gaza and releasing the hostages held by Hamas, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.

"Our response to the proposal will be based on stopping Israeli aggression against Gaza and withdrawing their forces from the Gaza Strip," he said.

He added that Hamas is open to any discussions, provided that "they lead to a comprehensive cessation of aggression and providing shelter for our displaced people."

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday that his government will not release Palestinian prisoners or withdraw forces from Gaza, despite the international efforts to achieve a ceasefire deal.

Fighting continues

Israeli forces on Tuesday stormed the Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the state-run Palestine TV reported.

Al-Amal Hospital hosts thousands of Palestinians who sought refuge there as a result of Israeli shelling in various areas of Khan Younis.

However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied the report. "There's no storming of the Al-Amal hospital, entry into it or any ordering of people to leave at gunpoint," an IDF spokesman said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday called for the protection of civilians amidst the fighting in the Gaza Strip.

"The ongoing hostilities in densely populated urban areas, including areas surrounding hospitals, endanger the lives of the most vulnerable groups, such as medical teams, patients, the wounded, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly," the committee said in a statement sent to Xinhua.

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 26,751 since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a cross-border surprise attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, said the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Tuesday.

UNRWA 'distraction'

Fears have grown that the Middle East could face a wider conflict, after months of violence involving Iran-backed allies of Hamas in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, who have also targeted U.S. forces.

The war has left much of Gaza in ruins and sparked a spiraling humanitarian crisis for its 2.4 million people, many of whom face the threats of hunger and disease.

Israel has alleged that about a dozen staff of the main UN aid agency for Palestinians – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) – took part in the October 7 attack, leading key donor countries including the United States and Germany to suspend funding.

On Tuesday, Sweden became the latest country to join the move of temporarily halt funding for the UN agency, making its operations currently more uncertain.

The World Health Organization called the row over UNRWA "a distraction from what's really going on every day, every hour, every minute in Gaza."

UN senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag said, "There is no substitute" for UNRWA's capacity, knowledge and the essential services it offers to Palestinians.

(With input from agencies)