Efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza are stumbling as diplomatic efforts to bridge the positions of Israel and Hamas on the ceasefire deal prove difficult.
On Tuesday Politico reported that the deal was on the brink of collapse, with US sources blaming Hamas for the lack of deal, although Israeli sources speaking to Axios on Monday blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his hardened position and moving the goalposts of a ceasefire at each negotiating round.
The talks come as Israel’s assault on the enclave continues, with Palestinian news outlet Wafa reporting that Israel’s dawn raids killed four people in Rafah, while one person was killed in a strike on Jabaliya in north Gaza. An Israeli strike on a market in Deir el-Balah on Tuesday evening killed nine.
Meanwhile, cross-border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel continued after an Israeli strike in the Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley killed one and wounded 20. Hezbollah retaliatory bombardment on Wednesday morning against the Israeli occupied Golan Heights wounded one.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 40,173 people and wounded a further 92,857 since 7 October.