CAIRO/DOHA: Twenty-six people, including six children and five women, were killed in Israeli strikes on central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday.

Gaza’s civil defence said the Indonesian Hospital came under Israeli attack in Gaza’s Beit Lahiya.

Elsewhere in the city, 29 people were reported killed in a series of air strikes on and near the Kamal Adwan Hospital.

According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israel targeted an ambulance at the hospital, and a rights group said the Israeli army used human shields in an attempt to evacuate patients and medical staff.

Meanwhile, Hamas released a video of an Israeli prisoner held in Gaza Strip since October last year.

In the undated, three-and-a-half-minute video, the prisoner can be seen saying in Hebrew that he had been in captivity for more than 420 days and called for public pressure on the Israeli government to secure the release of captives.

On the other hand, Qatar voiced hope of fresh momentum in efforts to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said his country was engaging with the incoming Trump administration on Gaza after sensing fresh momentum for ceasefire talks following the US election.

Sheikh Mohammed said momentum had returned to talks aimed at securing a truce and prisoner exchange deal in Gaza following the election of Donald Trump as US president.

“We have sensed, after the election, that the momentum is coming back,” the Qatari premier told the Doha Forum for political dialogue.

He spoke as a source close to the Hamas delegation in the talks said a new round of negotiations will “most likely” begin in the coming week”.

‘No disagreement with US’

Sheikh Mohammed said that while there were “some differences” in the approach to an agreement by the outgoing and incoming US administrations, “we didn’t see or recognise any disagreement on the goal itself to end the war”.

The Gulf emirate, along with the United States and Egypt, had been involved in months of unsuccessful negotiations for a Gaza truce and prisoner release.

But last month, Doha announced it had put its mediation on hold, saying it would resume when Hamas and Israel showed “willingness and seriousness”.

Sheikh Mohammed said there had been “a lot of encouragement from the incoming administration in order to achieve a deal, even before the president comes to the office”, adding this had affected Qatar’s decision to get talks “back on track” over the past two weeks.

“We hope to get things done as soon as possible. We hope that the willingness of the parties to engage in good faith continues,” he said.

The Hamas source said: “Based on contacts with the mediators, we expect a new round of negotiations to begin in Cairo, most likely this week, to discuss ideas and proposals regarding a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange.”

The US president-elect warned this week on social media of unspecified massive repercussions if the Israeli prisoners were not released by the time he takes office next month.

Donald Trump has vowed his staunch support for Israel and promised to rein back on occasional criticism voiced by outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration.

Qatar’s premier dismissed the prospect of his country facing greater pressure over the status of its political bureau for Hamas.

Sheikh Mohammed called the Hamas office, which the Gulf state has hosted since 2012 with the blessing of the United States, a “platform to convene between the different parties”.

Qatar was not “expected to enforce solutions” on Palestinians, he added.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2024