Negotiators were to meet in the Qatari capital Doha again on Friday in an effort to hammer out a Gaza ceasefire agreement as Israel continued to slam targets in the Palestinian enclave.
Israel, meanwhile, pressed 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 northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli army also ordered a fresh evacuation of areas in southern and central Gaza previously designated as a humanitarian safe zone on Friday, saying the areas had been used by Hamas as a base for firing mortars and rockets toward Israel.
It said warning flyers and text messages had been sent out in the area north of the southern city of Khan Younis and in the eastern part of Deir al-Balah, where tens of thousands of people have sought shelter from fighting in other parts of Gaza.
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 toward implementation of a framework agreement accepted previously and achieve a complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces, return of displaced Palestinians and a hostage exchange deal.
“Hamas looks at the ongoing negotiations in Doha regarding a ceasefire and a hostage exchange from a strategic perspective with the goal of ending the aggression on Gaza,” he added.
The Israeli delegation includes spy chief David Barnea, head of the domestic security service Ronen Bar and the military’s hostages chief Nitzan Alon, defence officials said.
The White House sent CIA director Bill Burns and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel also took part.
‘A dangerous moment’
The negotiations, an effort to end bloodshed in Gaza and bring 115 Israeli and foreign hostages home, were put together as Iran appeared poised to retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
Gaps include the presence of Israeli troops in Gaza, the sequencing of a hostage release and restrictions on the free movement of civilians from southern to northern Gaza.
“This is vital work. The remaining obstacles can be overcome, and we must bring this process to a close,” U.S. national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at the White House on Thursday.
With U.S. warships, submarines and warplanes dispatched to the region to defend Israel and deter potential attackers, Washington hopes a ceasefire agreement in Gaza can defuse the risk of a wider regional war.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné were in the region and expected hold a joint meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
“This is a dangerous moment for the Middle East,” Lammy said. “The risk of the situation spiralling out of control is rising. Any Iranian attack would have devastating consequences for the region.”
UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the Gaza death toll of more than 40,000 reported by the enclave’s health ministry was a “grim milestone for the world.”
The war started after a Hamas-led a raid on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which Israel says the militants killed some 1,200 people, prompting Israel to attack Gaza in retaliation.
Fiery attacks in West Bank
Dozens of Israeli settlers, some wearing masks, attacked a Palestinian village near the city of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank, burning cars and killing at least one person, authorities said on Thursday.
The Palestinian health ministry said one Palestinian was killed and another critically wounded by Israeli settlers’ gunfire during the incident in the village of Jit, the latest in a series of attacks by settlers in the West Bank.
Footage shared on social media showed cars and houses on fire following the attacks.
The White House said late on Thursday attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank were “unacceptable and must stop,” after dozens of settlers assaulted a village, killing at least one person.
“Israeli authorities must take measures to protect all communities from harm, this includes intervening to stop such violence, and holding all perpetrators of such violence to account,” a White House spokesperson added.
The Israeli military said police and army units intervened and arrested one Israeli. It condemned the incident, which it said diverted security forces from other responsibilities.
The military said it was examining reports about the death of the Palestinian.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying he viewed the incident with “utmost severity.”
“Those responsible for any offence will be apprehended and tried,” it said.
Palestinians regularly accuse Israeli security forces of standing by and allowing groups of violent settlers to attack their houses and villages and the incidents have attracted increasing concern internationally.
The U.S., Canada and a number of European countries have imposed sanctions on violent settlers and called repeatedly on Israel to do more to curb the attacks.
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