MORE THAN 100 people were killed in Gaza overnight, according to the region’s health ministry, as Israel continued its bombardment in the wake of talks between both sides.
Qatari, US, Israeli and Egyptian officials met in Paris for talks, with Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari saying yesterday the discussions had arrived at an agreement for exchanging hostages and prisoners.
However, a Hamas source told news agency AFP that there was “no agreement on the framework of the agreement yet” and that “the Qatari statement is rushed and not true”.
Hamas’s position was that an initial six-week halt to the fighting and more aid deliveries into Gaza would then allow for “women, children and sick men over 60″ to be freed in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israel. There would also be “negotiations around the withdrawal of Israeli forces”.
Gaza’s health ministry reported 105 deaths and raids and shelling around Khan Yunis overnight, the main city in southern Gaza.
Domestic calls for a ceasefire and hostage deal have risen in Israel, with protesters gathering in Tel Aviv last night carrying placards showing hostages’ faces and slogans like “No more bloodshed”.
In the US, President Joe Biden imposed sanctions yesterday on four Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
Any assets the sanctioned individuals hold in the US will be blocked and Americans will be forbidden from engaging in financial transactions with them.
“The situation in the West Bank — in particular high levels of extremist settler violence, forced displacement of people and villages, and property destruction — has reached intolerable levels and constitutes a serious threat to the peace, security and stability,” Biden said in an executive order.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “Israel must do more to stop violence against civilians in the West Bank and hold accountable those responsible for it.”
Additional reporting by AFP
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