The latest round of ceasefire talks between the Palestinian Military wing -Hamad – and the Israelis have broken up without a breakthrough.
Hamas met with mediators in Cairo, while Israel did not send representatives. This is reportedly because it wanted to see a list of all hostages still alive beforehand.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said this would be impossible without a ceasefire. The hostages, he said, “are scattered across the warzone”.
“Netanyahu doesn’t want to reach an agreement and the ball now is in the Americans’ court,” Na’im said.
Washington said an Israeli-approved deal was already on the table and that it was up to Hamas to accept it, but Hamas has disputed this.
The Cairo talks had been billed as a final hurdle to reach a 40-day truce, with dozens of hostages freed and aid admitted.
Meanwhile, more than 30,600 Palestinians have died since Oct. 7, 2023, when the war broke out, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. A further 72,043 sustained injuries, it said.
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Some 97 Palestinians have died and 123 others sustained injuries in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.
Meanwhile, Sky News reported that at least 5,500 babies due to be born in the next month are at risk of dying, quoting UNICEF.
Their mothers do not have access to prenatal or postnatal check-ups due to bombings and displacement.
Anxiety is also leading to premature births, reported the UN’s maternal health agency, UNPF.
UNICEF said over 90 per cent of children aged six to 23 months and pregnant, breastfeeding women face severe food poverty.
This is because they cannot access two or fewer food groups daily. (Sky News)
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