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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the key Hamas demands “extreme” — including the withdrawal of Israel forces from Gaza and an end to the war.
The latest round of Gaza cease-fire talks ended in Cairo after “in-depth and serious discussions,” the Hamas militant group said Sunday, reiterating key demands that Israel again rejected. After signs of progress, the outlook appeared to dim.
Israel closed its main crossing point for delivering badly needed humanitarian aid for Gaza after Hamas attacked it. The defense minister claimed Hamas wasn't serious about a deal and warned of “a powerful operation in the very near future in Rafah and other places across all of Gaza."
Israel didn't send a delegation to the talks mediated by Egypt and Qatar, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that “we see signs that Hamas does not intend to go to any agreement." Egyptian state media reported that the Hamas delegation went for discussions in Qatar, where the group has a political office, and will return to Cairo for further negotiations on Tuesday.
Another threat to talks came as Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close, accusing it of broadcasting anti-Israel incitement. The ban did not appear to affect the channel’s operations in Gaza or the West Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from hard-liners in his government, continued to lower expectations for a cease-fire deal, calling the key Hamas demands “extreme” — including the withdrawal of Israel forces from Gaza and an end to the war. That would equal surrender after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the fighting, Netanyahu said.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a statement earlier said the militant group was serious and positive about the negotiations and that stopping Israeli aggression in Gaza is the main priority.
But Israel's government again vowed to press on with a military operation in Rafah, the southernmost Gaza city on the border with Egypt where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents now seek shelter from Israeli attacks. Rafah is a key entry point for aid.
Kerem Shalom, now closed, is another. The Israeli military reported 10 projectiles were launched at the crossing in southern Israel and said its fighter jets later struck the source. Hamas said it had been targeting Israeli soldiers in the area. Israel’s Channel 12 TV channel said 10 people were wounded, three seriously. It was unclear how long the crossing would be closed.
The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, called for an independent investigation and “accountability for the blatant disregard of humanitarian workers.” He also said Israel this week denied him entry to Gaza for a second time.
The closing of Kerem Shalom came shortly after the head of the U.N. World Food Program asserted “full-blown famine” in devastated northern Gaza, one of the most prominent warnings yet of the toll of restrictions on food and other aid entering the territory. The comments were not a formal famine declaration.
In expanded remarks as the full NBC interview was released Sunday, WFP chief Cindy McCain said famine was “moving its way south” in Gaza and that Israel's efforts to allow in more aid were not enough. “We need more ability to be able to get more trucks in,” she said. “We have right now a mass on the outside border, about enough trucks and enough food for 1.1 million people for about three months. We need to get that in."
Gaza's vast humanitarian needs put further pressure on the pursuit of a cease-fire. The proposal that Egyptian mediators had put to Hamas sets out a three-stage process that would bring an immediate, six-week cease-fire and partial release of Israeli hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack, and would include some sort of Israeli pullout. The initial stage would last for 40 days. Hamas would start by releasing female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Netanyahu claimed that Israel has shown willingness to make concessions but said it "will continue fighting until all of its objectives are achieved.” That includes the stated aim of crushing Hamas. Israel says it must target Rafah to strike remaining fighters there despite warnings from the U.S. and others about the danger to civilians.
An Israeli strike Sunday on the al-Attar family house in an urban refugee camp near Rafah killed four children, including a baby, and two adults, according to Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital.
In later remarks for Israel’s annual Holocaust memorial day, Netanyahu added: "We will defend ourselves in every way. We will overcome our enemies and we will ensure our security — in the Gaza Strip, on the Lebanese border, everywhere.”
The Hamas cross-border attack on Oct. 7 killed some 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. Netanyahu is under growing pressure from some hostages' families to make a deal to end the war and get hostages freed.
Israeli's air and ground offensive has killed over 34,500 people, according to Palestinian health officials, who don't differentiate between civilians and combatants but say women and children make up a majority of those killed.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian deaths, accusing it of embedding in residential and public areas. The Israeli military says it has killed 13,000 militants, without providing evidence to back up the claim.
Hamas chief accuses Netanyahu of sabotaging truce efforts, delegation leaves Cairo
[NEWARAB] A Hamas
 ...a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
official said on Sunday that its delegation left Cairo after the second day of ceasefire negotiations with Egyptian officials concluded as the two warring parties accuse each other of sabotaging a deal, leaving hopes of an agreement fading.
Israel has yet to send a delegation to Cairo and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that it would not agree to a deal which included the full military withdrawal from Gazoo
Islamic Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response . In October of 2023 Gazooks belonging to Hamas invaded Israel, killed over a thousand people, raped a bunch of women. Then they bitched and moaned about genocide when their butts handed to them in the entirely justified retaliation.
, as demanded by Hamas.
Also on Sunday, Israel's cabinet voted unanimously to shutdown Al Jazeera network on Sunday taking its website and TV channel off air. In an unprecedented move, Israeli police raided the outlet's premises in east Jerusalem and confiscated equipment.
Meanwhile,
...back at the Senate, Tremulus continued with his speech against Varius and his cohorts, watching as his colleagues dropped off to sleep one by one...
Israel launched attacks on neighbourhoods east of Rafah which killed and injured several civilians, while jets struck areas near Gaza City and in central Gaza, Paleostinian news agency Wafa reported.
Hamas fired rockets at a military base near Karam Abu Salem crossing which injured several Israeli soldiers and prompted Israel to shut the aid border.
Hamas 'needs guarantees from US' that Israeli forces will not invade Rafah
| President Biden lost hold of that leash, guys. So sorry. |
[GEO.TV] Spokesperson for Hamas
 ...one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
Osama Hamdan has stated that the fighter group needed a guarantee from the United States that the Israeli military would not invade Rafah after the ceasefire deal.
| Except that Israel — in the person of Prime Minister Netanyahu, has already promised they will. The ceasefire is only for so long as Hamas delivers live hostages. How many live hostages do Hamas & friends still have? Versus dead hostages, I mean. They’ve already said they can’t deliver all forty of those who are supposed to be alive. |
"We are still talking about the main issues, which are the complete ceasefire and complete withdrawal [of Israel] from Gazoo
Islamic Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response . In October of 2023 Gazooks belonging to Hamas invaded Israel, killed over a thousand people, raped a bunch of women. Then they bitched and moaned about genocide when their butts handed to them in the entirely justified retaliation.
," he told Al Jazeera in an interview.
"Unfortunately, there was a clear statement from Netanyahu saying regardless of any ceasefire or not, he’ll continue the attack against Rafah — which means there will be no ceasefire.
"Our understanding to achieve a ceasefire means there will be no more attacks anywhere in Gaza, including Rafah," he said.
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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli crews on Tuesday started bulldozing the Jerusalem headquarters of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, pushing forward with its crackdown against an organization tasked with delivering humanitarian services to millions of people across the region.
[AlAhram] The 