As the Gaza conflict enters its 444th day, reports indicate notable progress in ceasefire negotiations. Israeli media reported on Monday that an Israeli delegation, led by a senior Mossad official, has made headway in discussions about a truce and prisoner exchange. However, some differences between the two sides remain unresolved.
An Israeli official told the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that a deal with Hamas could extend beyond this month, possibly coinciding with the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that Israel’s actions resulted in five massacres in the past 24 hours, leaving 58 dead and 86 injured. The death toll from the Israeli offensive has now reached 45,317, with over 107,000 injured since October 7, 2023.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that approximately 70% of homes and buildings in the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza have been destroyed, turning it into what they described as a “ghost town.” Once one of the most densely populated areas in the world, Jabalia has now been left in ruins.
The Gaza government media office condemned Israel’s repeated threats against Kamal Adwan Hospital, calling for immediate intervention by the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure the protection of the hospital and medical staff. The Israeli military has threatened to evacuate, storm, and bomb the facility, jeopardizing the lives of patients and healthcare workers.
The media office said: “The Israeli occupation army continues its crimes and war of genocide, escalates its aggression, and continues to commit serious violations against health institutions and medical staff, the latest of which was the threat to evacuate, storm and bomb Kamal Adwan Hospital, threatening the lives of health staff working inside it, forcing medical staff and patients to evacuate it, and depriving hundreds of patients and wounded from their right to receive treatment and health care.”
On the ground, Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades reported targeting an Israeli force fortified inside a building near the Abu Sharkh junction in the north of Gaza. The Brigades said it have killed several Israeli soldiers and freed a number of Palestinians held inside the building.
