A girl stands amidst rubble in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip. AFP
The Hamas official said teams have been discussing terms for a new ceasefire agreement over recent days in Cairo, including a proposal that Hamas free eight to 10 Israelis held in Gaza. But the Hamas official said a major sticking point remained over whether the war would end as part of any new deal.
The talks in Qatar are meant to take place later this week or next, the official said.
Officials from Israel and Qatar had no immediate comment.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in January that lasted eight weeks before Israel resumed its genocidal war last month. The initial ceasefire agreement was meant to bring the sides toward negotiating an end to the war, something Israel has resisted doing.
Hundreds killed since the ceasefire collapsed
Since the ceasefire fell apart last month, Israel has blocked all aid from entering Gaza, and occupation forces have also seized swaths of the coastal territory.
On Monday, the United Nations Humanitarian Office warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is now likely to be “the worst” since Israel launched its war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, pointing to the Israeli ban on all supplies entering the Gaza Strip since March 2.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters: “No fuel has come in, no food has come in, no medicine has come in.”
Israel has killed nearly 51,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children.
The Health Ministry said Monday that the bodies of 38 people killed in Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals across the territory over the past 24 hours. It said more than 1,600 people have been killed since the ceasefire collapsed.
Israel kidnapped Palestinian medic
Also on Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that a Palestinian medic was kidnapped during an Israeli operation in which soldiers killed 15 first responders in the Gaza Strip. It was the first confirmation of the medic's whereabouts since the March 23 attack in southern Gaza.
A statement from the Red Cross said it has not been granted access to visit him and did not say how it had received confirmation of his detention.
The Israeli occupation army initially said soldiers had opened fire on vehicles that raised suspicion because they were traveling without lights on. It later backtracked after a cell phone video emerged showing marked ambulances traveling with their sirens flashing before the shooting.
* This story has been edited by Ahram Online.
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