Ismail Haniyehhead of the political wing of the Islamist group Hamasstated this Tuesday that he is close to achieving a truce agreement with Israelafter month and a half of one war which has left more than 14,500 dead, the vast majority of them in the Gaza Strip.
The movement delivered its response to the brothers in Qatar and the mediators, and we are close to reaching a truce agreement,” said Haniyeh, who has been exiled in Qatar for years, in a brief statement published on Telegram.
Israel declared war on Hamas on October 7 after an attack by the Islamist group that included the launching of rockets and the infiltration of some 3,000 militants who massacred some 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 240 in Israeli villages near the Strip. from Gaza.
Israel’s air, naval and land forces have since counterattacked on the Palestinian enclave, where there are already more than 13,300 dead, most of them children and women, as well as more than 6,500 missing people who could be under the rubble, which the number of fatalities could be even higher.
Added to this are tens of thousands of injured as well as more than 1.7 million displaced people – more than two thirds of the total population – who live in the midst of a serious humanitarian crisis due to shortages of water, food, electricity, medicine and fuel.
In this context, international pressure for a ceasefire has been becoming more intense, and last week the UN Security Council approved a resolution to establish war pauses and humanitarian corridors in Gaza after four failed attempts since the conflict began.
Israel, which has vowed to end Hamas – a group it considers terrorist like the United States and the European Union – has so far refused a ceasefire and even rejected the UN resolution, arguing that it “is disconnected from reality.” and it makes no sense.”
But pressure for a ceasefire is also being felt within Israel’s borders, especially from relatives of hostages captured by Hamas, who are advocating a truce in exchange for the return of their loved ones.
On Monday night, at a military barracks in Tel Aviv, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahuand his war cabinet, met with the families of the hostages.
The president assured that the two objectives of the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip were the destruction of Hamas and the rescue of hostages and that both missions have the same importance.
This aroused the fury of many relatives, who believe that the priority should be rescuing the hostages, even if this means negotiating with Hamas.
With information from EFE
