Over 40,000 Palestinians have died in the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas militants, the local health ministry said on Thursday.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been engaged in a war with Hamas in Gaza, which has also sparked other conflicts throughout the Middle East. Last month, Hamas and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran after attending the inauguration ceremony of Iran's new president.
On Thursday, officials from the U.S., Qatar and Egypt are set to meet with an Israeli delegation to negotiate a possible ceasefire in the war and for the release of hostages. However, it is currently unclear if Hamas will include themselves in the meeting as they have recently accused Israel of asking for additional requirements to a previous deal.
Diplomats believe a ceasefire in Gaza could help ease regional tensions, particularly in deterring retaliatory strikes from Iran and Hezbollah. The hope is that such a pause would dissuade Hezbollah from responding to the death of one of its top commanders, killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut, as well as the loss of Hamas' political leader in an explosion in Tehran.
In response to Haniyeh's killing, Iran vowed revenge with the Iranian Mission to the United Nations saying: "The response to an assassination will indeed be special operations—harder and intended to instill deep regret in the perpetrator."
Over the past few months, delegations from the U.S., Qatar and Egypt have worked to negotiate a peace deal requiring Hamas to release dozens of hostages they've held since the start of the war. Any peace deal would also require Israeli military forces to pull out of Gaza and for Israel to release any Palestinian hostages they have.
On May 31, both Hamas and Israel agreed in principal to a hostage release deal but both Hamas and Israel have accused each other of adding new requirements prompting disagreements.
Israel's most recent demand includes a continued military presence near its border with Egypt as well as a line through Gaza where Israel will search Palestinians to find any possible militants.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has disputed that his country has made any further demands but said that Israel is focused on a "total victory" against Hamas.
During an interview with The Associated Press (AP) this week, Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan said, "We have informed the mediators that … any meeting should be based on talking about implementation mechanisms and setting deadlines rather than negotiating something new."
"Otherwise, Hamas finds no reason to participate," he added.
Hamas has also expressed concerns over Israel resuming their war once the hostages are released by the militant group.
In November, around 100 hostages were released by Hamas after being taken on October 7. Roughly 110 hostages are still believed to be in Gaza but Israeli officials have expressed concern that some have already died.
The war began when Hamas-led militants launched an attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
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