Hamas announced the end of the latest ceasefire talks. Israel vows military operation in 'very near future' – Winnipeg Free Press

JERUSALEM (AP) – The latest round of Gaza cease-fire talks ended after “deep and serious discussions” in Cairo, Hamas said Sunday, repeating key demands Israel has again rejected. After earlier signs of progress, the outlook looked bleak as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to resist international pressure to end the war.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas would not agree and warned that “there will be a strong operation in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza in the near future” after Hamas attacked a key Israeli crossing for the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid. three soldiers. The Israeli military said it believed Hamas had targeted soldiers gathered at the Gaza border in preparation for a possible invasion of Rafah. Hamas said it targeted soldiers in the area.

But Israeli media reported that CIA chief William Burns, the main mediator in the talks, will meet with Netanyahu on Monday. An official with knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press that Burns traveled with Egypt to meet with the prime minister of Qatar, which has mediated with Hamas. It is not known whether the next trip to Israel will take place. The official asked not to be named to discuss the closed-door talks.

Israel did not send a delegation to the latest talks. Egyptian state media reported that a Hamas delegation had traveled to Qatar, where the group's political office is located, for discussions and would return to Cairo for further talks on Tuesday.

In another threat to the talks, Israel ordered the closure of local offices of the Qatari satellite news network Al Jazeera, accusing it of spreading anti-Israel propaganda. The ban does not appear to have affected the channel's operations in Gaza or the West Bank.

Netanyahu, under pressure from hardliners in his government, has continued to downplay hopes of a ceasefire deal, calling key Hamas demands, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and an end to the war, “absurd”. It was tantamount to surrendering after Hamas' attack on Oct. 7 that sparked the battle, he said.

In an earlier statement, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the militants were serious and positive about the talks and that ending Israel's aggression in Gaza was a top priority.

But the Israeli government has vowed to continue the military operation in Rafah, the southernmost Gaza city on the border with Egypt, where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are now seeking refuge from Israeli attacks. Rafah is the main access point for aid.

Kerem Shalom, which is now closed, is another. The Israeli military said 10 shells were fired at a crossing in southern Israel, and its fighter jets later said it had hit the source. Israel's Channel 12 reported that 10 soldiers remained in hospital. It is not known how long the crossing will be closed.

The head of the UN refugee agency, Philippe Lazzarini, called for an independent investigation and “to hold humanitarian workers accountable for their neglect.” He also said Israel had barred him from entering Gaza for the second time this week.

Kerem Shalom's closure comes shortly after the head of the UN's World Food Program declared “total starvation” in the devastated northern Gaza Strip, one of the most serious warnings of aid cuts to the territory. It was not an official declaration of famine.

In a full interview with NBC, WFP chief Cindy McCain said the famine is “going south” in Gaza and that Israel's efforts to provide more aid are not enough. “Right now we have mass on the external border, enough trucks for about three months and enough food for 1.1 million people. We have to implement that,” he said.

Gaza's overwhelming humanitarian needs have put pressure on ceasefire talks. The proposal presented by Egyptian mediators to Hamas would set out a three-stage process that would include a six-week ceasefire and the partial release of Israeli hostages on October 7 and some form of Israeli withdrawal. The initial period lasts 40 days. Hamas begins by releasing female hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Netanyahu has indicated that Israel is ready to withdraw, but will “continue to fight until all its objectives are achieved.” This includes the goal of destroying Hamas. Israel says it must target Rafah and strike the fighters who remain there, despite warnings from the US and others about the threat to civilians.

In an impassioned speech for Israel's annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, Netanyahu added: “I say to world leaders that no pressure, no decision by any international forum will prevent Israel from defending itself.”

Four children from the same family, including an infant and two adults, were killed Sunday in an Israeli strike on a house in an urban refugee camp near Rafah, Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital said. At least five people were killed in another Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, which received the bodies. The Israeli military announced that it struck a Hamas command center in the center of the Gaza Strip. It did not mention the victims.

On October 7, a cross-border attack by Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took another 250 hostages. Israel says militants are still holding about 100 people and the remains of more than 30 hostages. Netanyahu, under pressure from the families of some of the hostages, is negotiating an end to the war and the release of the hostages.

Palestinian health officials say Israeli air and ground attacks have killed more than 34,500 people, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say the majority of the dead are women and children.

Israel accuses Hamas of killing civilians and infiltrating residential and public spaces. The Israeli army claims to have killed 13,000 militants, but provides no evidence to support this claim.

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Chehaib reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington, D.C., Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel and Jack Jeffery and Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's coverage of the war here: https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war