The Japan Times - Hamas insists on 'comprehensive' deal to end Gaza war

A two-month ceasefire in the war collapsed in March, with Israel resuming intense strikes and imposing a total aid blockade on the Palestinian territory.

Israel demands the return of all hostages seized in Hamas's unprecedented October 2023 attack and Hamas's disarmament, which the group has rejected as a "red line".

Hamas has consistently demanded that a truce deal must lead to the war's end, a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a surge in humanitarian aid.

"Hamas and the resistance factions insist on reaching a comprehensive agreement and a full package to end the war and aggression, along with a roadmap for the day after," political bureau member Bassem Naim told AFP Wednesday.

"There are desperate attempts ahead of (US President Donald) Trump's visit to the region... to force through a partial deal that would return some Israeli captives in exchange for a limited number of days of food and water -- without any guarantees from any party to actually end the war," he said.

Trump is due in the Gulf next week for talks with the heads of state of powerful monarchies.

Israel this week drew widespread condemnation over its plans for an expanded Gaza offensive, which an official said would entail the "conquest" of the Palestinian territory.

- 'We die of hunger' -

Before that phase begins, a senior Israeli security source had said that the timing of troop deployments allowed a "window of opportunity" for a possible hostage deal coinciding with Trump's Middle East trip.

"We want to try and get as many hostages saved as possible," Trump said at the White House, without elaborating.

In Gaza, rescuers said strikes killed 26 people, 15 in a strike on a school.

"Our teams retrieved 15 martyrs and 10 injured individuals after Israeli occupation aircraft targeted the Al-Karama school, which shelters displaced persons... in the Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City," spokesman Mahmud Basal told AFP.

He had earlier reported a toll of 11 killed in strikes on the territory.

One strike hit a house in the southern city of Khan Yunis, where eight members of the Al-Qidra family were killed and 12 wounded, Bassal said.

The ages of the dead ranged from two to 54, he added.

AFP footage from Khan Yunis's Nasser Hospital showed wounded children crying on hospital beds while bodies covered in blankets arrived in ambulances.

"They were sleeping and the house collapsed on them," said Abir Shehab, adding her brother had been killed.

"We die of hunger, we die of war, we die of fear, we die of everything, and the whole world stands by and watches us die," she said.

Israel's military did not immediately comment on the strikes.

- 'More deaths and injuries' -

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Wednesday at least 2,545 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign, bringing the war's overall toll to 52,653.

Hamas's October 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants also abducted 251 people, 58 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

On Tuesday, Hamas said it was pointless to continue ceasefire talks with Israel, accusing it of waging a "hunger war" on Gaza.

France's President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that the situation in Gaza was "the most critical we have ever seen".

In Madrid, Spain, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway and Slovenia in a joint statement said they "firmly reject any demographic or territorial change in Gaza".

UN rights chief Volker Turk voiced concerns Wednesday that Israel's plans to expand its offensive aim to create conditions threatening Palestinians' "continued existence" in Gaza.

"There is no reason to believe that doubling down on military strategies, which, for a year and eight months, have not led to a durable resolution, including the release of all hostages, will now succeed," he said.

"Instead, expanding the offensive on Gaza will almost certainly cause further mass displacement, more deaths and injuries of innocent civilians, and the destruction of Gaza's little remaining infrastructure."

Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Mustafa, not affiliated to Hamas, urged the world to put a stop to the "deliberate humanitarian crime" of famine, which he said was being perpetrated in Gaza.

"We appeal to the conscience of humanity. Do not let the children of Gaza starve to death," he said.

Y.Hara--JT