DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A Hamas official said Monday that the Palestinian militant group is sending a delegation to the Gulf state of Qatar to continue indirect ceasefire talks with Israel over the war in Gaza, as the territory’s Health Ministry reported that 38 people were confirmed dead over the past day.
The Hamas official indicated that teams have been discussing terms for a new ceasefire agreement over recent days in Cairo, including a proposal that Hamas releases eight to 10 hostages held in Gaza. However, the official revealed that a major sticking point remains over whether the war would end as part of any new deal.
Talks in Qatar are scheduled to occur later this week or next, according to the Hamas official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions. Officials from Israel and Qatar had no immediate comment on the ongoing negotiations.
Israel and Hamas previously agreed to a ceasefire in January that lasted eight weeks before Israel resumed hostilities last month. The initial ceasefire was intended to facilitate negotiations aimed at ending the war, something Israel has been reluctant to pursue as it focuses on defeating Hamas first.
The conflict has taken a devastating toll, with hundreds killed in Gaza since the collapse of the ceasefire. Since that time, Israel has blocked aid from entering the territory and has seized large areas of the coastal enclave to increase pressure on Hamas to agree to terms more favorable to Israel.
On Monday, the United Nations humanitarian office warned that the situation in Gaza has likely reached its worst point since Israel began its retaliatory actions against Hamas’ attacks 18 months ago. This dire assessment follows an Israeli ban on all supplies entering the Gaza Strip since March 2.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric shared stark information with reporters: “No fuel has come in, no food has come in, no medicine has come in.”
The current hostilities began when Hamas-led militants killed approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, during an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and abducted 250 individuals. Although many hostages were liberated in ceasefire agreements, 59 are believed to remain in Gaza, with 24 confirmed to still be alive.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 50,000 Palestinians have died during Israel’s retaliatory campaign, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians. The Health Ministry reports that over half of those killed are women and children.
On Monday, the Health Ministry noted that 38 bodies were delivered to hospitals across Gaza within the past 24 hours. It also stated that more than 1,600 people have died since the ceasefire ended.
In a related development, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed the detention of a Palestinian medic during an Israeli military operation in which troops killed 15 first responders in the Gaza Strip. This marks the first confirmation of the medic’s situation since the attack on March 23 in southern Gaza.
The Red Cross stated that it has not been permitted access to visit the detained medic and did not disclose how it obtained this confirmation. The Israeli military had no immediate response to inquiries regarding the medic’s detention.
Initially, the Israeli military reported that its troops had opened fire on vehicles deemed suspicious due to their lack of lights. However, the military later retracted its statement after cellphone video footage surfaced, showing clearly marked ambulances with sirens activated traveling in the area prior to the gunfire.
The military claimed to have killed nine militants traveling in the ambulances but did not provide any corroborating evidence. While one militant’s name was released, it did not align with any known paramedics, and no other bodies have been found.
The military announced that it is conducting a further investigation into the incident.
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