dpa
Tel Aviv
Israel and Hamas on Wednesday accused each other of obstructing negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after Israel withdrew its negotiators from the talks the previous day.
Israeli media reported on Wednesday that the refusal by the Palestinian group Hamas to hand over a list of the names of the hostages it still holds is hindering progress in the negotiations.
After more than a week of intensive negotiations, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office recalled the country’s negotiators on Tuesday, saying there should be internal consultations on the continuation of the negotiations.
According to the reports, Hamas sources said they were prepared to hand over a list of hostages who could be released in a first phase following the ceasefire, but refused a demand by Israel to provide a complete list of the 100 hostages who are supposedly still alive.
Hamas in turn accused Israel of blocking the negotiations. In a press release on Wednesday the group said Israel “introduced new conditions related to the issues of the withdrawal [from Gaza], the ceasefire, the prisoners, and the return of the displaced people, leading to the delay in reaching an agreement that was within reach.”
Hamas said it “has demonstrated responsibility and flexibility.”
Netanyahu’s office responded to the accusations: “The Hamas terrorist organization continues to lie, is reneging on understandings that have already been reached, and is continuing to create difficulties in the negotiations.”
Despite this, it said, “Israel will continue its relentless efforts to return all of our hostages.”
The Israeli Air Force targeted a Hamas member in a humanitarian protection zone in the Gaza Strip, the military announced on Wednesday on its Telegram channel.
It said the man was active in the area of the city of Khan Younis in the south of the sealed-off coastal strip. Prior to the “precise attack,” numerous measures were taken to minimize the risk to civilians, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
The military did not provide information about possible casualties.
Their statements could not be independently verified.
Meanwhile, the United Nations emergency relief office once again called for urgent aid for hospitals in the embattled Gaza Strip, especially in the north, with continued reports of attacks on and around hospitals there.
The appeal, made on Tuesday, Christmas Eve, is for urgently needed food and water, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
In Gaza City in the north, only three ventilators are available for infants needing intensive medical care, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The situation in the hospitals Kamal Adwan, al-Awda and the Indonesian Hospital in the north of the Gaza Strip has drastically deteriorated since Sunday, when Israel’s army said it had conducted a limited operation against Hamas in the area around the Indonesian Hospital. These claims could not initially be independently verified.
OCHA further reported that northern Gaza remains almost completely besieged. Since December 1, Israeli authorities have denied 48 out of 52 attempts by the UN to coordinate access for humanitarian aid, it said. The new UN emergency coordinator, Tom Fletcher, reported earlier of a collapse of law and order in the isolated coastal area, stating that supplies are being systematically looted by local gangs.
