38 Palestinians killed in Gaza amid truce hopes

Deal to halt fighting and release hostages held in Gaza could be secured soon: Officials

Last updated: December 18, 2024 | 19:06

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Palestinians stand in wait for a food portion at a distribution centre south of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on December 17, 2024.

AFP

Dubai: At least 38 people have been killed and 203 wounded in Israeli attacks across Gaza over the past 24 hours, amid optimism from rival camps about a potential ceasefire deal.

Hamas said that Tuesday’s talks in Qatar, aimed at achieving a truce and a hostage-prisoner exchange in Gaza, were “serious and positive”, while Israeli officials described a ceasefire as more realistic now than at any time in the past year.Parties involved in long-stalled ceasefire discussions suggested that a deal to halt the fighting and release hostages held in Gaza could be secured soon.

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A working group from Israel is currently in Doha to re-establish relations with mediators in case of a breakthrough in negotiations with Hamas, according to Israeli officials.

In Washington, White House spokesperson John Kirby told Fox News: “We believe — and the Israelis have said this — that we’re getting closer, no doubt about it. But we are also cautious in our optimism. We’ve been in this position before, where we weren’t able to get it over the finish line.”

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Israeli troops would continue to occupy a recently seized buffer zone in Syria for the foreseeable future, even as ceasefire efforts in Gaza persist. Netanyahu made the statement on Tuesday night while touring Mount Hermon, known to Syrians as Jabal Sheikh.Israeli forces recently moved into the demilitarized zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights following the collapse of Bashar Al Assad’s government earlier this month. While officials have previously described this move as a temporary measure to ensure border security, no timeline has been provided for troop withdrawal.

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes across the territory on Monday killed at least 38 people, most of them displaced Palestinians seeking shelter in a house in the north.

Civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 10 Palestinians were killed in a dawn strike on a house in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, where several displaced families had taken refuge.

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