Lull in Gaza fighting as 10 Israeli hostages ‘alive’

Israel’s forces struck Gaza on Monday and witnesses reported blasts in the besieged territory’s south, but fighting had largely subsided amid an army-declared “pause” to facilitate aid flows while tens of hostages held by Hamas are still alive, according to an Israeli negotiator.

On Monday witnesses told Agence France-Presse (AFP) they could hear blasts in the center and west of the southernmost city of Rafah.

Palestinian officials there reported tank shelling early on Monday, before the start of the daily “local, tactical pause of military activity” announced by the army.

Elsewhere in the Palestinian territory an AFP correspondent said strikes and shelling have decreased.

In Gaza City, medics at Al-Ahli hospital said at least five people were killed in two separate air strikes, and witnesses reported tank shelling in the Zeitun district.

At least one strike hit Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, residents said.

Troops were still operating in Rafah and central Gaza, reporting “close-quarters combat” that killed several militants, the military said.

Mahmud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defense agency, said that apart from the deadly Gaza City strikes, “the other areas of the Gaza Strip are somewhat calm.”

Hostages alive

A senior Israeli negotiator, who told AFP that tens of hostages “are alive with certainty,” said that Israel could not commit to ending the war until all the captives were released.

Hamas militants seized 251 hostages on 7 October, of whom Israel believes 116 remain in Gaza, including 41 who the army says are dead.

“Tens are alive with certainty,” the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.

“We cannot leave them there a long time, they will die,” he said, adding that a vast majority of them were being held by Hamas militants.

United States President Joe Biden last month unveiled a three-phase proposal to end the war in Gaza, which includes a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Biden said the first phase includes a “full and complete ceasefire” lasting six weeks, with Israeli forces withdrawing from “all populated areas of Gaza.”

The official said Israel could not end the conflict with Hamas before a hostage deal because the militants could “breach their commitment... and drag out the negotiations for 10 years” or more.