Residents walk along a debris-strewn street in front of a building that collapse during an Israeli air strike in Gaza City early on 8 October 2023. Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP.
AFP
Israel carried out an air strike on militants in northern Gaza on Sunday, rattling an already fragile ceasefire as it prepared for fresh talks in Doha on the future of its truce with Hamas.
Despite the end of the truce's initial phase a week ago, both sides have refrained from returning to all-out war, though there have been sporadic episodes of violence. Sunday's air strike was the latest of daily strikes reported by Israel since Thursday.
The Palestinian militant group has repeatedly called for an immediate start to negotiations on the ceasefire's second phase, which was negotiated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt aiming to bring a permanent end to the war.
Israel says it prefers an extension of phase one until mid-April, and cut off aid to Gaza over the impasse.
Hamas representatives met mediators in Cairo over the weekend, emphasising the urgent need to resume humanitarian aid deliveries to the territory "without restrictions or conditions," a Hamas statement said.
"We call on mediators in Egypt and Qatar, as well as the guarantors in the US administration, to ensure that the occupation complies with the agreement... and proceeds with the second phase according to the agreed-upon terms," Hamas spokesman, Hazem Qassem, told AFP.
Hamas's key demands for the second phase include a hostage-prisoner exchange, a complete withdrawal of Israel from Gaza, a permanent ceasefire, reopening of border crossings and lifting of the Israeli blockade, he said.
Former United States president Joe Biden had also outlined a second phase involving the release of remaining living hostages, the withdrawal of all Israeli forces left in Gaza, and establishment of a permanent ceasefire.
Following talks with mediators, another Hamas spokesman, Abdel Latif al-Qanoua, said indicators were so far "positive."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said it would send delegates to Doha on Monday, and Israeli media reported the security cabinet would discuss the matter later on Sunday.
Israel's military said its air strike Sunday targeted militants who "were identified operating in proximity to IDF troops and attempting to plant an explosive device in the ground in northern Gaza."
The truce largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in Gaza, where virtually the entire population was displaced by Israel's relentless military campaign in response to Hamas's 7 October 2023, attack.
The six-week first phase led to the exchange of 25 living Israeli hostages and eight bodies for the release of about 1,800 Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
It also allowed much-needed food, shelter and medical assistance to re-enter Gaza.
Since Israel subsequently cut off the aid flow, United Nations rights experts accused the government of "weaponising starvation."
"To date, only 10 percent of the required medical supplies have been allowed in, exacerbating the crisis," Gaza health ministry spokesman Khalil al-Dakran said, adding that the "continued closure of the crossings threatens the lives of patients in Gaza."
Displaced Palestinian widow Haneen al-Dura told AFP she and her children spent weeks living on the street "among dogs and rats" before receiving a tent.
Last week, US President Donald Trump threatened further destruction of Gaza if all remaining hostages were not released, issuing what he called a "last warning" to Hamas leaders.
He also alluded to repercussions for all Gazans, telling them: "A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!"
The threats came after his administration confirmed the start of unprecedented direct talks with Hamas, which Washington had previously refused contact with since designating it a terrorist organisation in 1997.
Of the 251 hostages taken by the Palestinian militants during the October 7 attack, 58 remain in Gaza, including five Americans of which four have been confirmed dead.
Trump had previously floated a widely condemned plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza, and on Sunday Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that proposal was "taking shape."
Trump's idea has prompted Arab leaders to offer an alternative.
Their proposal would see Gaza's reconstruction financed through a trust fund, with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority returning to govern the territory.
International support for the Arab plan grew on Saturday when the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which calls itself the "collective voice of the Muslim world," adopted it.
Britain, France, Germany and Italy separately gave their backing.
At a weekend rally in Tel Aviv, family members of Israeli hostages demanded their government fully implement the ceasefire.
"The war could resume in a week," Einav Zangauker, the mother of Matan Zangauker, told the crowd.
"The war won't bring the hostages back home. It will kill them."
Hamas's attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to official figures.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,458 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN considers these figures reliable.
