The continuous bombardments in Gaza killed more than 30 in the latest attacks as Israel announced resuming indirect negotiations for a ceasefire and hostages’ release with Hamas on January 4 in Qatar.
Families included members of the al-Ghoula family, of Gaza City, whose house was reduced to rubble in a predawn air attack that killed 11, all relatives, including seven children. Rescuers in the Gaza neighborhood of Shujaiya sieved through the wreckage with some appalling pictures of bodies-including several children-being brought out covered by white sheets.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said a delegation had gone to Qatar to press on with negotiations after Hamas released a video of Israeli soldier Liri Albag, who addressed her government to help in her release. Katz’s office said, “Efforts are underway to free the hostages, notably the Israeli delegation which left yesterday for negotiations in Qatar.”
It is also reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “gave detailed instructions for the continued negotiations,” which further cements Israel’s commitment to a solution.
Hamas also confirmed the resumed negotiations, adding its determination to “ensure the agreement leads to a complete cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of occupation forces.” Mediators from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt have been working on these talks for several months.
These negotiations are set against the backdrop of the release of a video by Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, featuring Albag. The three-and-a-half-minute undated video shows the 19-year-old conscript making an emotional plea in Hebrew for the Israeli government to secure her return.
To date, there are 96 Israeli hostages in Gaza, out of which the Israeli military said 34 were known to have been killed. The war has caused an enormous human cost: more than 45,700 lives lost in Gaza and 1,208 in Israel, according to health ministry figures, in a conflict that has caused immense suffering.
