Israel has issued threats to cancel the ongoing ceasefire deal amid escalating tensions with Hamas over the deadlock in a prisoner exchange deal.
On Thursday, Hamas officials held talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, as mediators Egypt and Qatar race against time to save the fragile ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi says there are “positive signals” that three Israeli captives will be released as planned on Saturday, but says the group is yet to receive commitments from Israel that it would adhere to the truce deal.
Hamas alleged that Israeli defence forces have violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement by resorting to violent crackdowns and continuation of military actions in the occupied territory.
So far, five rounds of prisoner exchanges have taken place between Hamas and Israel.
In the first phase of the agreed ceasefire deal, Hamas has agreed to release “33 Israeli hostages, while Israel has agreed to release hundreds of Palestinian detainees in exchange”.
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Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz again threatens to resume war on Gaza, saying the new conflict will be of another intensity altogether and “allow the realisation of” US President Donald Trump’s “vision” to displace Palestinians there.
Gaza’s Health Ministry confirms “48,222 deaths in Israel’s war on Gaza while 111,674” people have been wounded.
The Government Media Office has revised “The death toll to at least 61,709 people, saying thousands missing under the rubble are now presumed dead.”
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Meanwhile, the US special envoy to the Middle East, Marco Rubio, is set to embark on a three-day trip to the Middle East to diffuse tensions and extend the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
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