Israel and Hamas have engaged in a new round of talks to end the war in Gaza, after Israel’s military launched a major new offensive.
At least 300 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on the enclave since Thursday, including at least 50 people in bombardments overnight, rescuers in the territory said yesterday.
Taher al-Nounou, an adviser to the head of Hamas, told the BBC fresh negotiations were under way in Doha yesterday that were being brokered by Qatari and US mediators.
He said there were no preconditions from either side, and all issues were on the table for discussion. Israel’s defence minister said they had started talks without agreeing to a ceasefire or lifting its blockade.
A senior Palestinian official familiar with negotiations told the BBC that talks were centred around some of the remaining hostages being released from Gaza in exchange for a period of calm.
The proposal had been put forward by US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff in recent weeks, but both sides had previously indicated obstacles to the plan.
The new round of talks comes after a week of intensifying bombardments and airstrikes. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday morning declared the start of a new offensive called “Operation Gideon’s Chariots”.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised a major military escalation that would occupy and control swathes of Gaza, force the Palestinian population to the south of the territory and “destroy” Hamas.
The IDF said on Saturday it wouldn’t stop operating “until Hamas is no longer a threat and all our hostages are home”. It said it had “struck over 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip” in 24 hours.
The Times of Israel newspaper reported that “Gideon’s Chariots” – a reference to a biblical warrior – would also see the IDF prevent Hamas from taking control of aid supplies.
Thousands of Israeli troops, including soldiers and reservists, could enter Gaza as the operation ramps up in the coming days. Israeli tanks have also been seen at the border, Reuters news agency reported.
The intensified offensive has been condemned by the UN and some European leaders.
UN Secretary General António Guterres expressed alarm and said: “I reject the repeated displacement of the population – along with any question of forced displacement outside of Gaza.”
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk had also earlier said that Israel’s strikes, continued blockade of aid into Gaza and the forced relocation of people was “tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”
