Hamas told Qatari mediators it was willing to release up to 70 women and children held in Gaza in exchange for a five-day ceasefire with Israel.
They also demand the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
“Last week there was an attempt by the Qatari brothers to release enemy prisoners – women and children – “in exchange for the release of 200 Palestinian children and 75 women held by the enemy,” said Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the armed wing. Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades.
The statement was released in an audio recording posted on the group’s Telegram channel.
“The ceasefire must include a complete ceasefire and allow for humanitarian aid and assistance throughout the Gaza Strip,” he said.
He also accused Israel of “delaying and circumventing” the agreement.
Israeli tanks arrive at the gates of Gaza’s main hospital
Israeli forces arrived Monday at the gates of Gaza City’s main hospital, the main target in their battle for control of the northern half of the Gaza Strip, where doctors say patients, including newborns, are dying from lack of fuel.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra, who was in Al-Shifa Hospital, said that 32 patients, including three newborns, had died in the past three days as a result of the siege of the complex and the lack of energy.
At least 650 patients were still inside, desperately waiting to be evacuated by the Red Cross or another neutral agency to another medical center. Israel says the hospital is located above tunnels and houses a headquarters for Hamas militants who use patients as shields, something Hamas denies.
“The tanks are in front of the hospital. We are in a total lockdown. It is a completely civilian area. There are only hospital facilities, hospital patients, doctors and other citizens staying in the hospital. Someone has to stop this,” surgeon Ahmed El Mokhallalati said by telephone.
“They bombed the (water) tanks, they bombed the wells, they also bombed the oxygen pump. They bombed the entire hospital. So we barely survived. We tell everyone that the hospital is no longer a safe place to treat patients. “We are harming patients by keeping them here,” he added.
There were also renewed fears that the war could spread beyond Gaza, leading to an escalation of clashes on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon and prompting U.S. airstrikes on Iran-linked militias in neighboring Syria.
Israel last month launched a campaign to destroy Hamas, the militant group that rules the Gaza Strip, and led an incursion into southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took 240 hostage in Gaza, according to Israel’s deadliest day in its 75- year-long history. . .
Since then, thousands of Gazans have been killed and two-thirds of the population has been left homeless as a result of Israel’s brutal military campaign. Israel ordered the complete evacuation of the northern half of the Gaza Strip. According to medical authorities in Gaza, more than 11,000 people have been killed, including about 40% children.
Since Israeli ground forces entered Gaza in late October and quickly surrounded Gaza City, fighting has focused in an increasingly tight circle around Al Shifa, the enclave’s largest hospital.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Qidra said an Israeli tank was parked in front of the hospital. Israeli snipers and drones fired on the hospital, making it impossible for doctors and patients to move.
“We are under siege and in the circle of death,” he said.
Source: La Neta Neta
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
