negotiations continue to try to obtain a new truce in the Gaza Strip

A first one-week break, between November 24 and December 1, allowed the release of 105 hostages by Hamas and 240 Palestinians detained by Israel.

Diplomatic efforts continue on several fronts on Thursday, December 21, to try to obtain a truce in the Gaza Strip. On the one hand, Hamas is talking with Egypt. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh visited Cairo on Wednesday to discuss a new “temporary one-week truce in exchange for the release by Hamas of 40 Israeli prisoners, women, children and men”, explained a source close to the Palestinian movement to AFP. But these negotiations have so far led to no results, sources close to the matter told the BBC and the Wall Street Journal.

A source within Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally which also holds hostages, said its leader Ziad al-Nakhala would also travel to Cairo early next week. On the other hand, Israel is maintaining a dialogue with Qatar and the United States to try to reach a truce allowing a new release of hostages. The Israeli military estimates that 129 people are still being held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas or other terrorist groups.

The positions of the two camps, however, still remain very far apart. Hamas demands a complete cessation of fighting as a prerequisite for any negotiations on the fate of the hostages. Israel is open to the idea of ​​a truce, but rules out any ceasefire before “elimination” of Hamas, in power since 2007 in Gaza. The war “The war will continue until Hamas is eliminated, until victory. Those who think we will stop are out of touch with reality”repeated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

An urgent need for humanitarian aid

US President Joe Biden acknowledged that there was still a long way to go before reaching a possible truce. “We are not expecting an agreement at this stage, but we are keeping up the pressure”he said Wednesday.

A first one-week break, between November 24 and December 1, allowed the release of 105 hostages by Hamas and 240 Palestinians detained by Israel. It also made it possible to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, the distribution of food, water and fuel has been reduced since the resumption of fighting.

The United Nations services continue to warn of the deep crisis humanitarian crisis that is shaking Gaza. Half the population there suffers from extreme or severe hunger and 90% of residents are regularly deprived of food for an entire day, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The war has also caused immense destruction in this territory, most hospitals are out of service and 1.9 million people, or 85% of the population, have fled their homes, according to the UN. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the fighting has left more than 20,000 dead, including at least 8,000 children and 6,200 women, since October 7.