As the Israeli war on Gaza enters its sixth month without any significant breakthroughs, amid Israeli insistence on not complying with Hamas demands and continuing military operations, sources told “Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath” on Thursday that Hamas will send its final draft on a ceasefire to mediators next week for the besieged sector.
The sources added that Hamas informed the mediators that in case of a repetition of the aid incident, negotiations would be halted, referring to the tragedy where over 100 Palestinians were killed and nearly a thousand injured in an Israeli attack Thursday morning while aid was being distributed near Gaza City.
The Israeli airstrikes targeting Nablus Square in northern Gaza led to the deaths of 104 civilians and the injury of around 760 others.
However, an Israeli government spokesman claimed that the Palestinian casualties during aid distribution resulted from the rush of delivery drivers amidst the increasing crowd.
In contrast, Hamas completely denied Israeli allegations, stating in a statement that Israel had “deliberate intent” to cause this large number of deaths and injuries, noting that all of them were directly shot or shelled.
It stated that the Israeli army deliberately and premeditatedly committed these acts as part of the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Gaza residents, according to the statement.
Meanwhile, an Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath correspondent confirmed that Israeli forces directly fired at some civilians while they were waiting for aid.
He explained that large numbers of wounded were transported to Al-Shifa Hospital, exceeding the medical staff’s capacity to deal with them. Additionally, several bodies and injured were transported to Al-Muamalani Hospital in Gaza City and Kamal Adwan in Jabalia.
This comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed during a press conference on Thursday evening that the political operation’s goal is to give the military operation time to achieve decisive victory, stating that international pressures do not affect him because he is committed to achieving his government’s goals and interests.
He added that Hamas is not ready for any compromise, noting that it “works daily internationally to assist the army in freely moving in its operations,” according to his claim.
It is worth mentioning that amid expectations of not achieving a “major” breakthrough so far, despite slight progress in negotiations on a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, and a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli negotiators returned from Qatar to Tel Aviv on Thursday without much hope.
After days of talks in Doha, reaching a truce in the besieged Palestinian territory, which has been under Israeli fire since October 7, seems distant, apparently.
The main sticking point remains a complete and permanent ceasefire, a demand insisted upon by Hamas, as well as the demand for the return of displaced persons to areas in the northern and central Gaza Strip.
While the Israeli side has raised many reservations, insisting on the condition of not allowing those who are of military age among the fleeing Palestinian males to return to the south, content with allowing women and males over the age of 50 to return.
It should be noted that Hamas media official Walid al-Kilani clarified that the movement shows flexibility on this issue and does not see it as crucial.
However, he confirmed its insistence on a comprehensive ceasefire beginning before discussing any other details.
Meanwhile, Israel refuses a complete ceasefire and insists on short truces or intermittent ceasefires for prisoner exchanges.
Both the United States, along with Qatar and Egypt, are pressing for a ceasefire in the densely populated sector before Ramadan, especially amidst growing international and UN warnings of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with the escalation of food shortages, indicating a famine that could affect hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
