Hamas announced on Thursday that its representatives have left Cairo. The negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages will continue next week. It is very unlikely that a deal will be reached before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Mediators were hoping to reach an agreement before Ramadan because violence between Israelis and Palestinians often increases during this month due to a conflict over a holy site in Jerusalem. The war has made the whole area worried, with groups supported by Iran fighting with Israel and the United States.
Egyptian leaders said earlier that the talks were stuck because Hamas wants the war to end in stages. However, they haven’t completely dismissed the possibility of making a deal before Ramadan starts on Sunday.
Hamas spokesman Jihad Taha said Israel won’t promise to stop fighting, let displaced people go home, and leave the areas it invaded. But he said the talks are still happening and will start again next week. Israel did not comment right away.
The US, Egypt, and Qatar have been working for weeks to make a deal for a six-week break from fighting and to free 40 people who are being held in Gaza. In return, they want Palestinians who are in jail in Israel to be released.
Egyptian leaders said that Hamas has agreed to the main points of an agreement as a first step, but they also want promises that it will lead to a lasting ceasefire in the future. Israel wants to keep the negotiations focused on a smaller agreement.
The officials talked without saying their names because they were not allowed to talk about the negotiations with the media. Both officials said that people are still trying to help the two parties to be more flexible in their positions.
Hamas has said they won’t let go of all the hostages until Israel leaves the territory completely. It is thought that Palestinian fighters are holding about 100 people captive and the bodies of 30 others that they took during a conflict involving Hamas in October. 7 times people attacked Israel, this started the war.
Hamas wants to free many prisoners, including important fighters in jail for life, in return for the remaining hostages.
It is thought that Hamas has the hostages in their tunnels and is using them to protect their leaders. It would be very hard to rescue them from there. It wants to use them as a way to stop the war the way they want.
This is a big problem for Israel because they might have to decide between saving the hostages or getting rid of Hamas.
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, said no to what Hamas wants and said that Israel will continue fighting even after a ceasefire. He wants to attack the city of Rafah and keep fighting until they win. He also said that using military force will help get the hostages released.
During Ramadan, Muslims pray more, think deeply, and give to those in need. They also have nightly parties with loved ones after fasting all day. The new month will start on Sunday or Monday, depending on when the moon is seen.
For many years, Israeli forces and Palestinians have fought in Jerusalem over being able to go to the Al-Aqsa mosque, which is a very important place for Muslims. The hill where it stands is very important to Jewish people. They call it the Temple Mount because it was where the Jewish temples were a long time ago.
Hamas says it started the attack in October. The group attacked because they felt Israel was getting too close to their holy site and want more fights with Israel during the holy month. Israeli officials say people can still go to the site like they did before.
Hamas fighters attacked and killed about 1,200 people, most of them were not in the military, and took another 250 people captive when they crossed the border in October. The existing text doesn’t seem to be provided. Can you please provide the text you would like me to simplify. Thank you More than 100 people who were held captive were set free in an agreement to stop fighting last year.
Israel attacked Gaza with a big military effort from the air, land, and sea. This caused about 80% of people to leave their homes and many are now struggling to find enough food to eat.
The Health Ministry in Gaza says that at least 30,717 Palestinians have died. It doesn’t separate civilians and soldiers when counting the number of people killed, but it says that about two-thirds of those killed are women and children. The ministry, which is part of the government led by Hamas, keeps careful records and its numbers for people killed or injured in past wars are similar to those reported by the UN and independent experts.
Israel claims to have killed more than 13,000 Hamas fighters, but has not shown any proof. It says that many civilians are being killed because fighters from Hamas are working in crowded areas where people live.
Gaza is facing a very serious problem, especially in the north where there is a lot of damage caused by the offensive. Around 300,000 people still live there. They have to eat animal food to survive. The UN says that one in six children under 2 in the north is very malnourished.
Israeli officials announced on Wednesday that they will start letting aid go straight from Israel to northern Gaza. They also said they will help set up a sea route from Cyprus to send aid. This is in response to international requests to help with the crisis.
Charities say it’s really hard to give things to people in most of Gaza because it’s so difficult to work with the Israeli military, the fighting that is still happening, and the collapse of public order. It is even harder to get help to the northern areas.
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Ceasefire negotiations to resume back up next week – Hamas
