Negotiators were to meet in the Qatari capital Doha again on Friday to hammer out a Gaza ceasefire agreement as Israel continued to slam the Palestinian enclave.
It came as so-called “safe zones” in the besieged enclave shrunk further, as Israeli forces ordered early on Friday the evacuation of Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis in central Gaza.
Gaza health officials reported separately on Thursday that more than 40,000 people had been killed after more than 10 months of Israel’s war on the strip.
Israel continues to press its assault on Gaza. Gaza health officials said at least six Palestinians were killed on Thursday night in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Jabalia in the strip’s north.
Israeli troops earlier hit targets in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.
In a statement issued late on Thursday on Telegram, Hamas politburo member Hossam Badran said Israel’s continuing operations were an obstacle to progress on a ceasefire. Hamas officials did not join Thursday’s talks.
Badran said the talks must move towards the implementation of a framework agreement accepted previously and achieve a complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces, return of displaced Palestinians, and a captive exchange deal.
Mediators planned to consult with Hamas’s Doha-based negotiating team after the meeting, the US official told Reuters.
(Reuters)
Featured image: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty
