War in the Middle East: New negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas “ready for a cessation of hostilities”

As Israeli army raids continue in southern Lebanon, talks on a ceasefire agreement in Gaza are set to resume. Hamas has already set its conditions.

The Essentials

• Israel announced that it was sending a delegation to Qatar to negotiate an agreement on Gaza involving the release of the hostages. Hamas, for its part, said it was ready for a conditional truce, a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory. The terrorist group “showed itself ready for a cessation of hostilities”, but demanded Israel a “commitment to a ceasefire”, a “withdrawal from the Gaza Strip” and a “serious agreement for an “exchange” of the Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7 and held in Gaza against Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, says the leader of the Islamist group.
• This Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also called for a “ceasefire” in Lebanon on France Info. “Let's cease fire and move towards peace,” the minister said. The head of French diplomacy fears a “risk of civil war that would plunge Lebanon into chaos and collapse” if solutions are not quickly found.
• “We discussed options to build on this moment and next steps to move the process forward,” said Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State currently in the Middle East, who is also in favor of a peaceful outcome, on Thursday.
• The Israeli army continues its bombings in Lebanon. On the night of Thursday to Friday, new strikes targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut. One of them caused the death of three journalists in Hasbaya. “The Israeli enemy waited for the journalists' night break to surprise them while they were sleeping (…)” This is an assassination, after surveillance and a hunt, because there were eighteen journalists there representing seven media institutions. “This is a war crime,” Lebanese information minister said.

Latest updates

19:37 – Populations in northern Gaza Strip face famine

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in the north of the Palestinian enclave, the Israeli army's bombardments are incessant. The IDF is also reportedly ordering “hundreds of thousands of people” to move, “with no guarantee of return”. Noting that “virtually no aid has been able to reach these areas for weeks, with illegal restrictions continuing”, “many [people] are now facing “famine,” warned Volker Türk on Friday evening.

18:20 – 12 dead in bombings on a group waiting for humanitarian aid in Gaza according to the civil defense

At least twelve people died in Israeli bombings on a group waiting for humanitarian aid in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the Civil Defense. “The Civil Defense recovered twelve dead and several injured after Israeli drone strikes targeted a vehicle and a group of citizens waiting for aid north of the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City,” according to the organization's spokesman, Mahmoud Bassal.

17:59 – Hezbollah bombings in southern Lebanon and Israel

Hezbollah claims to have fired missiles at Israeli army tanks in a village on the Israeli border. Separately, the IDF claims that 45 “projectiles fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon” have been spotted. Two people died after a rocket exploded in the Arab town of Majd al-Krum in northern Israel.

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17:52 – Antony Blinken ends diplomatic tour without truce agreement in Gaza

The US Secretary of State has ended his eleventh diplomatic tour since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in London, without announcing a ceasefire in Gaza. On Thursday, in Doha, he mentioned “a plan for what comes next, so that Israel can withdraw from Gaza, Hamas cannot reconstitute itself, and Palestinians can rebuild their lives and their future under Palestinian leadership”.

17:32 – Suspension of flights to Beirut and Tel Aviv extended by Air France

Air France and its subsidiary Transavia have announced that they are extending the suspension of their flights to Beirut until November 30 and to Tel Aviv until October 29. “The resumption of operations will remain subject to an “assessment of the situation on the ground,” Air France said, announcing that “postponements and refunds” would be offered to affected customers.

17:16 – The UN estimates that 150,000 people are dead, injured or missing in Gaza

The northern Gaza Strip is living “its darkest hour,” says Volker Türk. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says Israel's actions could be described as “crimes against humanity.” He says “more than 150,000 people have been killed, injured or missing in Gaza” since the war between Hamas and Israel began more than a year ago. “Northern Gaza is being bombarded non-stop,” he lamented, while “the Israeli army has ordered the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, with no guarantee of return.”

He also accused Palestinian armed groups of operating from places where civilians are, thus putting them in danger, “which is totally unacceptable,” he said.

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42,718. This is the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip since the Hamas terrorist offensive on October 7, 2023 in Israel. A figure communicated by the Ministry of Health of the Hamas government, on Monday, October 14, 2024, which reveals the intensity of the fighting that has now lasted for more than a year. Over the months, tensions have intensified, and as of October 27, 2023, Israel extended its ground operation to Gaza. The goal for Netanyahu and the IDF is clear: to “annihilate” Hamas. A week-long ceasefire was nevertheless in place in November 2023. After a major leap forward, on April 13, 2024, Iran launched its first massive attack on Israel. Allied to Hamas, Iran then fired nearly 350 explosive drones and missiles at the Hebrew state. An attack in response to missiles fired at the embassy in Damascus in Syria on April 1, in which 11 people lost their lives, including seven Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

On Tuesday, September 17, 2024, a new type of attack broke into the war. Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies exploded. Twelve dead and nearly 3,000 injured were reported in Lebanon. Since its coordinated explosions, Israel has continued to strike Lebanon with air and ground raids. More than 1,000 people were killed in IDF strikes and thousands of Lebanese were forced to be displaced. On October 1, 2024, Iran responded by sending nearly 200 ballistic missiles directly to Israel. Since then, the two countries have been engaged in a merciless war, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening on October 8, 2024 that Lebanon would experience “destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza” if the country's population did not “free itself” from Hezbollah. Remarks described as “provocation” by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot.

On Monday, October 14, 2024, the Lebanese Hezbollah threatened Israel with new attacks in a press release. As a reminder, Hezbollah had struck Haifa two days earlier, killing four Israeli soldiers and injuring no fewer than 60. At the beginning of the week, the terrorist organization indicated that “the resistance (…) promises the enemy”. The raid carried out “south of Haifa is only a foretaste of what awaits it if it decides to continue its aggression against our people”, it threatens. According to Palestinian doctors quoted by the Associated Press, the courtyard of a hospital in the Gaza Strip was then shelled by the Israeli army, killing at least four people and setting fire to a camp for displaced people.