Negotiations are underway to reach a three-day humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for the release of about a dozen hostages held by Hamas, according to two officials from Egypt, one from the United Nations and a Western diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic efforts.
So far, several concerned Arab countries — including Jordan and Egypt, which made peace with Israel decades ago — have been calling for a broader ceasefire in the war, while the United States on the other hand, is making efforts to secure a humanitarian pause in the war. However, according to a report by Oxfam, given the scale of the need, a ceasefire is the only solution that works. Such a ceasefire will also be an essential precursor to peace talks and addressing the root causes of the conflict, the report notes.
If the deal that is being brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States is agreed upon, it would help enable more aid, including limited amounts of fuel, to enter the besieged territory to alleviate worsening conditions for the 2.3 million Palestinians trapped there. Many of them are already living with limited access to these basic resources for over a month now.
The war, now in its second month, has killed over 10,500 Palestinians, including more than 4,300 children, the Health Ministry in Gaza said. In the occupied West Bank, more than 160 Palestinians have been killed in the violence and Israeli raids. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the October 7 Hamas attack that started the fighting, and 239 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group.
The United Nations human rights chief said that collective punishment by Israel of Palestinian civilians and their forced evacuation, as well as atrocities committed by Palestinian armed groups on October 7 and their continued holding of hostages, amount to war crimes.
