Ceasefire hopes fade as Israeli strikes continue to ravage Gaza
GAZA STRIP
Hopes were dwindling Thursday for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where fighting raged despite pressure from the United States on Israel and Hamas to reach an agreement.
The prolonged conflict, surpassing ten months since its inception following Hamas's unprecedented Oct. 7 attack on Israel, has left Gaza devastated, displacing nearly the entire population and causing a severe humanitarian crisis.
Efforts for diplomatic resolution have intensified amid fears of a broader conflict sparked by killings attributed to Israel, which have prompted threats of reprisals from Iran and its allies. Although U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded his latest Middle East tour on Wednesday aimed at securing a ceasefire, no breakthrough was achieved.
U.S. President Joe Biden later pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call to accept a ceasefire deal, amidst pressure from pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the U.S. Democratic party's convention ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
"The president stressed the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles," the White House said.
Biden reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel, countering threats from Iran and its affiliates.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic party's candidate in the U.S. presidential election, also took part in the call.
However, optimism remains tempered. Reports suggest Netanyahu, leading a tenuous right-wing coalition, disagrees with a key component of the negotiations concerning the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza-Egypt border. Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted knowledgeable sources claiming "the chances for a deal are slim," though efforts are underway to convene talks in Cairo on Friday and Saturday.
The report indicated Netanyahu's insistence on maintaining a military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor, while the U.S. calls for a substantial troop withdrawal in two stages.
Hamas, in response, criticized the U.S. proposal as aligning with Netanyahu's terms, accusing him of hampering an agreement due to insistence on controlling the corridor and other strategic areas critical for weapon flow prevention into Gaza. Despite expressing eagerness for a ceasefire, Hamas continues to protest against what it perceives as new Israeli conditions.
The Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people, most of them civilians, according to Israeli official figures.
In Gaza, 40,265 Palestinians have died due to the Israeli military response, the health ministry in Gaza reported.
The majority of the casualties are women and children according to the U.N.
Out of 251 hostages taken, 105 remain with Hamas, including 34 confirmed dead.
On the ground, Gaza's civil defense reported three fatalities and 10 children injured following an Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter on Wednesday. The Israeli military indicated a targeted strike on a weapons storage facility in proximity to a Hamas command-and-control center within an old school compound.
The U.N. reports at least 23 school strikes since July 4.
The violence has spread beyond Gaza, affecting the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli operation in Tulkarem refugee camp.
Fears of a major regional escalation have mounted since Lebanon's Hezbollah movement and other allies of Iran vowed to respond to twin killings of top Hezbollah and Hamas militants, blamed on Israel, late last month.
China on Thursday urged its citizens to leave Lebanon "as soon as possible", becoming the latest country to do so.
On Wednesday the West Bank-based Palestinian movement Fatah, a rival of Hamas, accused Israel of attempting to ignite a "full-scale" regional war after killing one of the leaders of its armed wing in Lebanon.