As Trump pushes for a package by January 20th, Hamas sticks by the prisoner release conditions. 

Hamas stood by its demand on Tuesday that Israel completely end its assault on Gaza under any deal to launch hostages, and said U. S. president-elect Donald Trump was reckless to say” all hell will crack out” unless they go completely by his Jan. 20 inauguration. In the most intense effort to end the hostage-taking in Gaza and secure the release of 100 victims who are still held captive in Gaza, representatives from the Islamist party and Israel have been talking to Qatari and Iranian negotiators for weeks. Many in the area then see Trump’s inauguration as an illegal date, and the incoming U.S. administration has called for a last push for a bargain before Joe Biden leaves business. All heaven will tear out in the Middle East, Trump said on Tuesday at a press conference held at his Mar-a-Lago hotel in Florida.” If ( the victims are ) not back by the time I get into business, by the time I get into business. ” It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone” .1: 47
Tel Aviv protesters rally against Netanyahu, need efforts on captive deal with HamasTrump is dispatching his approaching special minister to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, to Qatar this week for more talks. According to Wittkoff, significant progress has been made. ” The red lines he’s put out there — that’s driving this negotiation”, Witkoff told reporters while standing next to Trump. However, both sides accuse one of blocking a deal by sticking to rules that had hampered all previous peace efforts for more than a year. Hamas claims that it will only release its last hostages if Israel agrees to end its military campaign and pulls all of its troops out of Gaza. Israel claims it won’t put an end to its assault until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are free. ” Hamas is the only obstacle to the release of the hostages”, the director general of Israel’s foreign ministry, Eden Bar Tal, told a briefing with reporters, saying Israel was fully committed to reaching a deal. Osama Hamdan, a top official from Hamas, claimed that Israel was to blame for putting all efforts into a head on the negotiations. He reiterated Hamas ‘ demands for” a complete end to the aggression and a full withdrawal from lands the occupation invaded,” while adding that the U.S. president should make more diplomatic and disciplined statements.
At least 70 killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza amid ongoing ceasefire talksIsrael has sent a team of mid-ranking officials to Qatar for talks brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Some Arabic media reports said David Barnea, the head of Mossad, who has been leading negotiations, was expected to join them. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not comment. A Hamas official claimed on Sunday that the organization had cleared a list of 34 hostages who might be freed in the first phase of a truce, along with Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, in a notable step toward a settlement. The list included female Israeli soldiers, plus elderly, female and minor-aged civilians. Israel’s prime minister’s office claimed that the country had not yet received confirmation that those on its list were still alive. Nearly 46, 000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, according to Hamas health officials in the enclave. According to Israeli records, the assault was launched after Hamas fighters stormed Israeli territory in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. At least 24 Palestinians were killed by Israeli military strikes on Tuesday in the Gaza Strip, according to doctors, as the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory pleaded with international donors to immediately provide fuel to run generators and maintain medical facilities. Four people were killed in one of those attacks in a house in Gaza City, and six were killed in two other attacks across the area, according to doctors. 2: 06
UN report criticizes regular Israeli attacks on Gaza hospitals Additionally, an Israeli strike on a car in Khan Younis killed two people, medics and civil emergency service officials said. A request for comment on those strikes was not immediately received by the Israeli military. The military released footage of a purported Hamas militant’s interrogation, which detailed how militants “operated from the hospital area” and transferred weapons to and from it, according to the statement. It claimed 240 Palestinians its forces had detained in a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza last month had provided” substantial intelligence.” Any armed presence at the hospital is disputed by Hamas and the Gaza Health Ministry. accompanied by additional Associated Press files