Ceasefire talks resume as death toll tops 40,000
- Gaza’s Health Ministry says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, with many more buried under rubble and threatened by illness.
- The US and Israel sent delegations to Qatar for ceasefire talks that resumed today while Hamas has told mediators it is willing to meet after the discussions to determine if there is a serious response from Israel to truce proposals.
‘For once, be brave,’ Gantz tells Netanyahu
Former Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz mocked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for citing his coalition government’s potential collapse as a reason for delaying a ceasefire, urging him to “be brave” and accept an agreement to end the offensive, which would help bring back Israeli captives from Gaza.
“At first, you hesitated on manoeuvring [in southern Gaza], then you hesitated on moving the effort to the north, and for months you hesitated to move forward with a hostage outline out of fear for the fate of the coalition,” Gantz, leader of the opposition National Unity alliance, addressed Netanyahu in a statement quoted by The Times of Israel.
“It is time for you to stop tending to the fate of the government, and only tend to the fate of the country,” Gantz advised him, underscoring his point: “For once, be brave.”
In response, Netanyahu’s Likud Party issued a statement claiming that “the protocols will prove that Gantz is the one who opposed decisions that were critical for the security of Israel, including decisions regarding dramatic military actions”.
The party claimed that the assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders since Gantz’s departure are more than anything else a “testimony to the change of reality”.
“Unfortunately, Gantz chose to leave the government during the war,” the party said, referring to Gantz’s resignation from the government in June of this year.
Ceasefire within reach if parties want a negotiated solution: UN spokesperson
The deputy spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said the UN is pushing for Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and for unrestricted access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Farhan Haq told Al Jazeera that he did not believe a ceasefire to be beyond reach despite months of negotiations, but that a deal would depend on “whether parties are willing to agree to a negotiated solution”.
“Every time this does happen, we play our role,” the UN spokesperson said.
At least 11 Palestinians injured by settlers in occupied West Bank attacks
We now have more updates for you on the Israeli settler attack in the village of Jit, east of Qalqiya.
According to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, at least 11 Palestinians were injured in Jit and in the town of Huwara in Nablus, by both Israeli settlers and Israeli soldiers, who were reportedly protecting the settlers.
Disagreements in ceasefire talks remain ‘big’: Egyptian media
Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV quoted “informed sources” on Gaza ceasefire talks as saying that disagreements between parties “remain big”.
The channel quoted a “high-level Egyptian source” as saying that the Egyptian delegation is intensifying efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement as talks continue in Doha.
