Gazan truce efforts ongoing, Israel says; Hamas unlikely to continue talks this weekend

Efforts to secure a deal on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza are ongoing, Israel's intelligence agency Mossad said on Saturday, despite dimming hopes for a truce during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Mossad chief David Barnea met on Friday with his U.S. counterpart, CIA director William Burns, to promote a deal that would see hostages released, Mossad said in a statement distributed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

"Contacts and co-operation with the mediators continue all the time in an effort to narrow the gaps and reach agreements," Mossad said.

Israel and Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rules the Palestinian enclave, have traded blame over the apparent deadlock in talks in the run-up to Ramadan, which begins on or around March 10.

A Hamas source told Reuters the group's delegation was "unlikely" to make another visit to Cairo over the weekend for talks.

WATCH | Temporary pause in fighting mightbe on the horizon, says U.S. official:

U.S. says understanding reached for temporary Israel-Hamas ceasefire

6 months ago

Duration 1:53

According to a senior U.S. official, an understanding outlining the parameters for a temporary pause in fighting in Gaza has been reached, and more negotiations are expected in Qatar this week.

Egypt, the United States and Qatar have been mediating truce negotiations since January. The last deal led to a week-long pause in fighting in November during which Hamas released more than 100 hostages and Israel freed about three times as many Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas blames Israel for the impasse in negotiations for a longer ceasefire and the release of 134 hostages believed still held in Gaza. It says Israelrefuses to give guarantees to end the war or pull its forces from the enclave.

Mossad said Hamas was digging in its heels and aiming for violence in the region to spiral during Ramadan. Israeli officials have said that the war will end only with the defeat of Hamas, whose demands Netanyahu have called "delusional."

In a statement on Saturday marking Ramadan, Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh vowed the Palestinians would continue to fight Israel "until they regain freedom and independence."

WATCH |Why a two-state solution is so elusive:

Why a two-state solution is nearly impossible to achieve

6 months ago

Duration 17:47

For decades, world leaders have sold an Israeli-Palestinian two-state solution as the best hope for peace in the region, but is it even possible? CBCs Ellen Mauro breaks down the major challenges standing in the way.

Five months into Israel's air and ground assault on Gaza, health authorities there say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed.

The war was triggered by an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

In Tel Aviv, thousands of Israelis attended rallies. At an anti-government protest, some demonstrators blocked a highway and were dragged away by police. Another protest was led by families of hostages who called for their loved ones' release.

"The pain and anger are still running through my blood," Agam Goldstein, a teenager freed from Gaza with her mother and two brothers in November, said in an addressthe hostage-related rally.

"But I must put them aside and turn to you, Hamas. If you have any humanity left in you, release the hostages."

Aid efforts

Charity workers loaded relief supplies bound for Gaza on a barge in Cyprus on Saturday as part of an international effort to launch a maritime corridor to a Palestinian population on the brink of famine.

The United States has said its military will build a temporary floating dock off Gaza's coast to bring in aid, though it does not envision deployment of U.S. troops on the ground.

WATCH |Skepticism among Palestinians over U.S. aid-by-sea plan:

Skepticism among Palestinians over U.S. aid-by-sea plan

6 months ago

Duration 3:19

There is skepticism from some Palestinians over U.S. plans to get more aid into Gaza by sea as hopes fade for a ceasefire before Ramadan.

Israel was co-ordinating with the U.S. on the dock project for shipment of aid "after it undergoes full Israeli inspection," to be delivered to Gaza civilians through international organizations, said Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

Aid groups say Israel's near-total blockade of Gaza and the fighting have made it nearly impossible to deliver aid to most of the territory. Many of the estimated 300,000 people still living in northern Gaza have been eating animal fodder to survive.

Dalia Al-Awqati, head of humanitarian affairs for Save the Children, saidalternate forms of aid deliveries including the proposed dock and recent U.S. airdrops are not as effective as clearing up existing routes that have been blocked by Israel.

WATCH |Israeli restrictions push Gaza to the verge of famine:

Israeli restrictions push Gaza to the verge of famine

6 months ago

Duration 2:53

WARNING: Video contains graphic images | Humanitarian groups say Israeli restrictions on food aid coming into Gaza have put the territory on the verge of a famine, making the Palestinian people even more desperate for any source of food or water.

"These alternate methods are costly, they're ineffective and they're a distraction from what is really needed, which is safe, unfettered humanitarian access throughout all of Gaza,"Al-Awqatitold CBC News on Friday.

"There are systems now that could function if they're allowed to ... the government of Israel, international community members and partners should really be focusingon opening those border crossing points."

'Chaos' in Rafah

Stepping up pressure on the last area of Gaza it has not yet invaded with ground forces, Israel struck one of the largest residential towers in the southern city of Rafah.

The 12-floor building was damaged in the strike, and residents said dozens of families were made homeless, though no casualties were reported. Israel's military said the block was being used by Hamas to plan attacks on Israelis.

One of the 300 residents of the tower, near the border with Egypt, told Reuters Israel gave them a 30-minute warning to flee the building at night.

"People were startled, running down the stairs, some fell, it was chaos," said Mohammad Al-Nabrees, one of the residents.

The strike raised alarm among Gazans of a wider Israeli assault on Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's 2.3 million people are sheltering.

Hamas on Saturday named four Israeli hostages as having died in Israeli strikes in the enclave, though it offered no evidence. The Israeli military, which declined to comment, has previously said such videos by Hamas were psychological warfare.

Israel's offensive has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian catastrophe. Much of the enclave is reduced to rubble and most of its population is displaced, with the UNwarning of disease and starvation.

The death toll from malnutrition and dehydration has risen to 25 in Gaza, said Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesperson for Gaza's health ministry. The number includesthree children who died of dehydration and malnutrition at the northern Al Shifa Hospital overnight.

In Lebanon, security sources said Saturday that an Israeli strike killed a family of five and injured nine people in the country's south.

The Israeli military, which has been regularly exchanging fire with Hamas-allied Hebzollah militants in Lebanon,said it was looking into the report.