Israel’s war on Gaza, which has seen more than 33,000 people killed, entered its seventh month on Sunday, with talks towards a truce and captive release deal expected to resume in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani are expected to join Egyptian officials for indirect talks between the Israeli and Hamas delegations.
US President Joe Biden pleads with the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to secure commitments from the Palestinian group Hamas to “agree to and abide by a deal”.
Hamas confirms its core demands are a complete ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces – conditions Israel has previously rejected.
Washington blames the talks’ failure so far on Hamas’s refusal to release sick and other vulnerable captives, while Qatar says Israeli objections to the return of displaced Palestinians in Gaza are the main obstacle.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issues an appeal for an end to Israel’s assault on Gaza and expresses outrage over the killing of three British aid workers in the besieged enclave.
Bloody six-month conflict
No end in sight to hostilities, as Gaza marks six months since Hamas carried out a surprise attack on Israel, triggering a retaliatory response, which some experts, including United Nations officials and investigators, have described as a genocide.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health says 33,175 Palestinians have been killed, including 13,800 children since October 7. At least 75,886 others have been wounded.
The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attack stands at 1,139, with dozens still held captive.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says the Israel war on Gaza has taken a “severe toll on journalists”. As of April 5, CPJ record shows at least 95 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza.
The Israeli army has announced the death of four soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip, hours after the military wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades, said it had killed 14 Israeli soldiers in Khan Younis. According to the Israeli military, 604 soldiers have been killed since the start of the war, 260 of them during the ground operation. At least 3,193 others have been reported injured.
A young Palestinian man died after being shot in the head by Israeli forces during a raid on Ramallah in the occupied West Bank tonight, Wafa reports, bringing to at least 458 the number of people killed by Israeli forces in the territory since October 7.
Former political prisoner and graduate student Layan Kayed was reportedly arrested on Sunday as Israeli forces raided several neighbourhoods in Ramallah. More than 7,350 Palestinians living in the West Bank have been detained since the war began.
