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A round of high-level talks in Cairo meant to bring about a ceasefire and hostage deal to temporarily end the 10-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza ended on Sunday without a final agreement, a US official said.
Talks will continue at lower levels in the coming days to bridge the remaining gaps.
The official, who spoke anonymously to discuss the talks, said lower level “working teams” will remain in Cairo to meet with mediators from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt in hopes of addressing remaining disagreements.
The end of the talks came as Israel and Hezbollah traded heavy fire early on Sunday.
Hezbollah claimed it had hit an Israeli military intelligence site near Tel Aviv as part of a barrage of hundreds of rockets and drones, while Israel claimed its dozens of strikes had been pre-emptive to avert a larger attack. Neither offered evidence.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that the latest exchange of strikes with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon is “not the end of the story”.
Key Points
- Israel-Hamas war ceasefire, hostage talks will continue after weekend meetings didn’t resolve gaps
- Israel launches heavy airstrikes on Lebanon, Hezbollah retaliates
- Netanyahu says Israeli strikes against Hezbollah 'not the end of the story'
- Biden ‘closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon’
Netanyahu warns ‘this is not the end’ after Israel and Hezbollah exchange heavy fire in major escalation
Netanyahu warns ‘this is not the end’ after Israel and Hezbollah exchange missiles
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says the Iranian-backed group could ‘respond’ with another attack
Alexander Butler26 August 2024 19:00 1724691603Comment: Hopes for a Gaza ceasefire – and wider regional peace – have never felt more distant
In Lebanon, the sky flashed red above the blasted southern neighbourhoods. In Israel, the air raid sirens wailed as rockets flew back. This borderland has now become one of the most volatile fault lines of the region and a potential trigger point for a much wider war.
This morning Israel announced it had sent 100 fighter jets over Lebanon, striking what it said were thousands of rocket launchers that Lebanese militant group Hezbollah had poised to attack.
Hezbollah said it sent over 300 Katyusha rockets and a large number of drones towards military positions in Israel in response to the killing of Fuad Shukr, their top commander that Israel assassinated in a strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month – a retaliation the world has been holding its breath for.
A Gaza ceasefire – and wider peace – have never felt more distant
The air and drone attacks between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon mark a major escalation, writes Bel Trew. But they also prompt the question of whether a ceasefire in Gaza would be enough to stop war spreading to Israel’s northern border
Bel Trew26 August 2024 18:00 1724688003Editorial: We are running out of chances to avoid all-out conflict in the Middle East
The large-scale air attacks carried out by Israel and Hezbollah in the early hours of Sunday morning mark the first serious escalation of the military conflict in the Middle East since the assassinations of a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut and the Hamas leader in Tehran at the end of July.
They threaten to unleash a new and still more dangerous stage of the war in and around Gaza, diminishing the fading hope that this 10-month-old conflict can be contained.
By any standards, this was a major exchange of firepower. According to Hezbollah, its action was the first stage in its long-awaited response to the killing of its commander.
Have we run out of chances to avoid all-out conflict in the Middle East?
Editorial: An immediate ceasefire in Gaza offers the best prospect of averting the risk of escalation that has been so graphically demonstrated over the weekend
Alexander Butler26 August 2024 17:00 1724684403Iran's foreign minister vows 'definitive' retaliation against Israel
Alexander Butler26 August 2024 16:00 1724680803Watch: US urges maximum restraint after Israel and Hezbollah exchange heavy fire
Israel’s economy is struggling. Economists say ending war would help
In Jerusalem’s Old City, nearly all souvenir shops are closed. In Haifa’s flea market, forlorn merchants polish their wares on empty streets. Airlines are canceling flights, businesses are failing and luxury hotels are half empty.
Nearly 11 months into the war with Hamas, Israel’s economy is struggling as the country’s leaders grind ahead with an offensive in Gaza that shows no signs of ending and threatens to escalate into a wider conflict.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to allay concerns by saying the economic damage is only temporary. But the bloodiest, most destructive war ever between Israel and Hamas has hurt thousands of small businesses and compromised international trust in an economy once thought of as an entrepreneurial dynamo. Some leading economists say a cease-fire is the best way to stop the damage.
Report:
Israel's economy is struggling. Economists say ending the war would help
Nearly 11 months into the war with Hamas, Israel’s economy is struggling as the country’s leaders grind ahead with an offensive in Gaza that shows no signs of ending and threatens to escalate into a wider conflict
Namita Singh26 August 2024 14:00 1724675441Israeli hardliner Ben-Gvir repeats call for prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque compound
Israel’s hardline security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir repeated a call for Jews to be allowed to pray at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, drawing sharp criticism for inflaming tensions as ceasefire negotiators seek a deal to halt fighting in Gaza.
“The policy allows prayers on the Temple Mount, there is equal law between Jews and Muslims - I would build a synagogue there,” Mr Ben-Gvir was quoted as saying by Army Radio in a post on social media platform X, following an interview on Monday.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office immediately put out a statement restating the official Israeli position, which accepts decades-old rules restricting non-Muslim prayer at the mosque compound, known as Temple Mount to Jews, who revere it as the site of two ancient temples.
“There is no change to the status quo on the Temple Mount,” Mr Netanyahu’s office said.
The hillside compound, in Jerusalem’s Old City, is one of the most sensitive locations in the Middle East, holy for both Muslims and Jews, and the trigger for repeated conflict. Mr Ben-Gvir, head of one of two hardline religious-nationalist parties in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition, has a long record of making inflammatory statements appreciated by his own supporters, but conflicting with the government’s official line.
Monday’s comment was condemned by some of his own cabinet colleagues, but Mr Netanyahu’s dependence on the support of Mr Ben-Gvir’s party to hold his right-wing coalition together means that the minister is unlikely to be sacked or face any significant penalty.
Monday’s comments came less than two weeks after he triggered outrage by visiting the compound with hundreds of supporters, many of whom appeared to be praying openly in defiance of the status quo rules.
Namita Singh26 August 2024 13:30 1724673641Fears of escalation amid diplomatic impasse between Israel and Hamas
The escalation between Israel and Hamas comes with little hope of an end in sight to the war, as diplomacy by mediators - Qatar, Egypt and the United States - has so far failed to reach a ceasefire deal.
Neither Hamas nor Israel agreed to several compromises presented by mediators at talks in Cairo on Sunday, two Egyptian security sources told Reuters.
A senior US official, however, described the talks as “constructive,” saying they were conducted in a spirit on all sides to reach “a final and implementable agreement.”
Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the group rejected new conditions made by Israel during the talks, which the group didn’t attend, and added that US comments over an imminent ceasefire deal were false and aimed to serve election purposes.
Namita Singh26 August 2024 13:00 1724671841MSF lashes out over attacks near Al-Aqsa Hospital
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement on X on Sunday night that an explosion approximately 250m away from the MSF-supported Al-Aqsa Hospital triggered panic.
“As a result, MSF is considering whether to suspend wound care for the time being, while trying to maintain life-saving treatment,” it said.
From around 650 patients, only 100 remain in the hospital, with seven in intensive care unit, it said, citing Gaza’s health ministry.
“This situation is unacceptable. Al Aqsa has been operating well beyond capacity for weeks due to the lack of alternatives for patients.
“All warring parties must respect the hospital, as well as patients’ access to medical care,” it added.
Namita Singh26 August 2024 12:30 1724670041Families flee after new Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza as ceasefire hopes dim
Israel issued new evacuation orders for Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip late on Sunday, forcing more families to flee, saying its forces intended to act against militant group Hamas and others operating in the area.
In recent days, Israel has issued several evacuation orders across Gaza, the most since the beginning of the 10-month war, prompting an outcry from Palestinians, the United Nations and relief officials over the reduction of humanitarian zones and the absence of safe areas.
The Deir Al-Balah municipality says Israeli evacuation orders have so far displaced 250,000 people.
Israeli military strikes killed at least seven Palestinians on Monday, medics said. Two were killed in Deir Al-Balah, where around a million people were sheltering, two at a school in the Al-Nuseirat camp and three in the southern city of Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
The new orders forced many families and patients to leave Al-Aqsa Hospital, the main medical facility in Deir Al-Balah, where hundreds of thousands of residents and displaced people had taken shelter, for fear of bombardments.
The hospital is close to the area covered by the evacuation notice.
Namita Singh26 August 2024 12:00 Newer1 / 6OlderDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
