Negotiations on a ceasefire stalled again

Im Gaza-Krieg are the indirect ones negotiations about one Truce and release of the hostages once again, according to media reports in the dead end.

According to several Israeli officials, the Islamist group Hamas continues to refuse to provide Israel with a list of names of the living hostages held in the Gaza Strip, the Gaza Strip reported Times of Israel.

According to that Wall Street Journal Arab mediators expect that both sides will only return to the negotiating table after US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20th.

The USA, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to mediate a ceasefire for months. Only recently have there been signs of a possible agreement again. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in mid-December that an agreement with Hamas was “closer than ever.”

But Hamas reportedly renewed its call for an end to the war, which Israel rejects.

The Islamists have not yet provided the mediators with a complete list of all hostages. Hamas said, according to media reports, that more time and a break in fighting were needed to find out their whereabouts and state of health.

Some of the approximately 100 hostages held in Gaza are said to be held by other extremist groups. However, Israel does not accept Hamas’s claim that it is unable to provide a list of hostages, the reported Times of Israel.

Israel continues to bomb

Meanwhile, Israel’s army continues to take massive action against Hamas in the north of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that 15 people, including several children, were killed in the bombardment of a residential building in the town of Jabaliya.

When asked, the Israeli army said fighter jets had attacked and killed Hamas fighters in a building. Measures had previously been taken to prevent harm to civilians as much as possible. None of the information could be independently verified.

Israel’s military lawyer calls for more caution

According to a media report, Israel’s top military lawyer warned that the army sometimes underestimates the number of civilians in certain areas when carrying out attacks in the Gaza Strip. More caution is necessary, wrote Major General Jifat Tomer-Jeruschalmi, according to the army broadcaster, in a sharply worded letter to the responsible commander Jaron Finkelman.

Israel’s army said it carried out more than 1,400 air strikes against targets in Gaza in December alone. Because of the high number of civilian casualties, the Israeli government and the armed forces it commands have come under heavy international criticism.

Former Defense Minister Gallant leaves politics

Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is retiring from politics. He announced his withdrawal from parliament on TV. Gallant was dismissed from government in November by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after months of disagreement over the conduct of the war against the radical Islamic group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but retained his seat as an elected member of the Knesset.

The ICC Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant as well as a leading Hamas member in November. They are accused of war crimes in the Gaza Strip.