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Explosions in the northern Gaza Strip on 14 January Explosions in the northern Gaza Strip on 14 January  (AFP or licensors)

Israeli attacks on Gaza surge as ceasefire agreement seems close

Qatari authorities, who are mediating ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, say an agreement for a ceasefire in Gaza is at its “closest point” yet. Mediation continues as intensified Israeli attacks on Gaza kill, wound and displace more Palestinians.

By Linda Bordoni

Israeli attacks on Gaza killed 61 more Palestinians on Tuesday as the death toll, according to the Health Ministry there, passes 46,600 since 7 October 2023. Nearly 70 per cent of them are women and children.

The number of Gazans injured in the Israeli onslaught is more than 110,000 and many people are still trapped under the rubble with rescuers unable to reach them.

Observers note that the more there are leaks about a potential ceasefire agreement, the higher the pace of the attacks.

Four people were killed on Tuesday afternoon in a strike on a busy area in the northwestern part of Deir el-Balah city as displaced people were moving in and out of their tent sites in search of food and drinkable water.

Attacks also continued to be carried out in Gaza City and further north where more drone strikes killed more people and attacked more residential buildings and public facilities.

So there is a very cautious optimism as the spokesman for the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs told a news conference in Doha, that his country, alongside the United States and Egypt, has handed a draft agreement to both Hamas and Israel and that major obstacles on key contentious issues between the two sides have been addressed.

As soon as both parties sign the deal, he explained, the implementation of the ceasefire agreement will occur very shortly after.

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14 January 2025, 16:13