Hamas has “responded positively” to a new ceasefire proposal with Israel but Israel says that they haven’t seen a new proposal yet so no deal.
The reported deal would mandate the release of five Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian hostages and allowing aid to return to Gaza. It was reportedly proposed by Egyptian negotiators.
While Israel ignores this proposal, it has stepped up attacks in Gaza and, according to the Washington Post, gearing up for a major ground operation.
The Post reports that Israel will use “new and more aggressive tactics,” “direct military control of humanitarian aid,” and target “more of Hamas’s civilian leadership, and evacuating women, children and vetted noncombatants from neighborhoods to ‘humanitarian bubbles.’”
Israel also killed two journalists in Gaza along with two women in separate attacks. There is video and it is horrible. The two journalists were: Mohammad Mansour, a correspondent for Palestine Today TV and 23-year-old Hossam Shabat, a reporter for Al Jazeera who was killed by an Israeli strike on his car. According to Antiwar.com: “Shabat was also a contributor to the American news site Drop Site News. He was previously put on a killed list by the IDF, which accused him of being a ‘terrorist’ without providing evidence.”
