Hamas attends Cairo ceasefire talks as Israel says Gazans free to ‘exit' enclave
chief negotiator held talks on Wednesday with
Egyptian
mediators over a potential ceasefire in the
Gaza war
, while
Israel
struck the territory's main city in advance of its planned takeover and again invited Palestinians to leave.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu reiterated an idea – also enthusiastically floated by US president Donald Trump – that Palestinians should simply leave the enclave, which is home to more than two million people, after nearly two years of conflict.
'They're not being pushed out; they'll be allowed to exit,' he told Israeli television. 'All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us.'
Arabs and many world leaders are aghast at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another 'Nakba' (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during the 1948 war that led to the creation of the state of Israel.
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Israel's planned reseizure of Gaza city – which it captured in the early days of the latest conflict before withdrawing – is probably weeks away, officials say. That means a ceasefire is still possible, though talks have been floundering and conflict still rages.
Israeli planes and tanks bombed eastern areas of Gaza city heavily overnight, residents said, with many homes destroyed in the Zeitoun and Shejaia neighbourhoods. Al-Ahli hospital said 12 people were killed in an air strike on a home in Zeitoun.
Tanks also destroyed several houses in the east of Khan Younis in south Gaza too, while in the centre of the territory Israeli gunfire killed nine people who were seeking aid in two separate incidents, Palestinian medics said. Israel's military did not comment.
Hamas chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya's meetings with Egyptian officials in Cairo on Wednesday were to focus on stopping the war, delivering aid and 'ending the suffering of our people in Gaza,' Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement.
Egyptian security sources said the talks would also discuss the possibility of a comprehensive ceasefire that would see Hamas relinquish governance in Gaza and concede its weapons.
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Israeli hostages not a priority for ministers planning Gaza takeover
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A Hamas official told Reuters the group was open to all ideas if Israel pulls out. However, 'Laying down arms before the occupation is dismissed is impossible,' the official told Reuters.
Mr Netanyahu's plan to expand military control over Gaza, which Israeli sources said could be launched in October, has heightened global outcry over the widespread devastation, displacement and hunger in the enclave.
About half of Gaza's residents live in the Gaza city area.
Foreign ministers of 24 countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, France and Japan, said this week the humanitarian crisis in Gaza had reached 'unimaginable levels' and urged Israel to allow unrestricted aid.
Israel denies responsibility for hunger, accusing Hamas of stealing aid. It says it has taken steps to increase deliveries, including daily combat pauses in some areas and protected routes for aid convoys.
The Israeli military on Wednesday said that nearly 320 trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings and that a further nearly 320 trucks were collected and distributed by the UN and international organisations in the past 24 hours along with three tankers of fuel and 97 pallets of airdropped aid.
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Mary Robinson urges states to act decisively to stop Gaza's 'unfolding genocide'
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The UN and Palestinians say aid entering Gaza remains far from sufficient.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's offensive against Hamas in Gaza since then has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. – Reuters
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