After some ups and downs in the talks, Al-Thani appeared “more confident that we are pretty close to an agreement that can bring people back home safely.” The Qatari Prime Minister did not give a timetable. Qatar, home to both a major US military base and Hamas’s political office, had in recent weeks mediated negotiations over the release of hostages kidnapped to the Gaza Strip and a temporary ceasefire in the war. Four hostages have so far been released as a result of this mediation.
The US government reiterated on Saturday (local time) that it was “continuing to work hard to reach an agreement”. However, the White House denied a Washington Post report about a tentative agreement under which the Islamist Hamas would release women and children held in the Gaza Strip in return for a ceasefire. The newspaper had reported that according to the preliminary agreement, the conflicting parties should stop fighting for at least five days, while some of the hostages should be released in groups.
On October 7th, hundreds of fighters from Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU, attacked Israel and committed atrocities there, mainly against civilians. According to Israeli figures, around 1,200 people were killed in Israel and around 240 people were taken hostage to the Gaza Strip.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel began massive attacks on targets in the Gaza Strip, and ground troops have now moved into the area. Israeli soldiers have been on the grounds of Al-Shifa Hospital for days, which they suspect is a Hamas operations center. On Saturday, hundreds of people left the hospital complex on foot heading south.
The aid group Doctors Without Borders said one person was killed as the convoy was attacked while evacuating its staff and their families from the organization’s compound near Al-Shifa hospital.
On Sunday, the health authority controlled by the radical Islamic group Hamas said that all 31 remaining premature babies had been evacuated from the Al-Shifa hospital. The babies will be accompanied by three doctors and two nurses, Gaza Hospital Director General Mohammed Zakut told AFP. “Preparations are underway” to bring the premature babies into Egypt via the Rafah border crossing.
The World Health Organization (WHO) described the clinic as a “death zone” after an hour-long visit by WHO staff. In a report released before the news of the premature babies’ evacuation, the WHO said there were 291 patients and 25 medical staff at Al-Shifa Hospital. The organization is preparing for its immediate evacuation with partner organizations, it said.
Meanwhile, fighting continued elsewhere in the Gaza Strip. On Saturday, two attacks hit targets in the Jabalia refugee settlement in the north of the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, the UN-run Al-Fakhura school and another building, which is run by the UN and used as refugee accommodation, and another building were hit, killing more than 80 people.
The Israeli army told AFP it had received “reports of an incident in the Jabalia region” and was currently investigating.
According to Hamas figures, which cannot be independently verified, around 12,300 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israeli attacks began six weeks ago.
According to the Israeli army, Israeli soldiers entered areas around Jabalia and Seitun in the north of the Gaza Strip. Three Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting, the military said on Sunday. The number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the war rose to 62.
