
A woman holds a sign during a demonstration calling for the release of hostages held captive in Gaza by Hamas since the Oct. 7 attacks, in front of the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on Jan. 4, 2025.(Credit: Jack Guez/AFP)
Israel confirmed on Saturday the resumption of indirect negotiations with Hamas in Qatar to secure the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli airstrikes reportedly killed more than 30 people, according to local rescue services.
Hamas's armed wing, as it has done several times before, released a video of one of the individuals abducted during the unprecedented Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel by the Palestinian group: Liri Albag, a 19-year-old Israeli woman.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed her family "of ongoing efforts to free the hostages, including the Israeli delegation that departed yesterday [Friday] for talks in Qatar."
While Israel emphasizes the priority of hostage release, Hamas, which had announced on Friday the resumption of discussions, is focusing on reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. The group stated that the talks would address a "complete cessation of hostilities" and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Palestinian territory, which has been besieged and devastated by nearly 15 months of conflict.
Protests in Israel
Israel has provided no details about the new round of talks, as protests were held in several cities across the country on Saturday, urging the government to expedite the release of hostages. "We told the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister that the negotiating team should not return [from Qatar] without an agreement," Liri Albag's parents said.
Despite intense diplomatic efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, no truce has been reached since the week-long ceasefire in late November 2023, which saw the release of about 100 hostages. Negotiations in Doha last December stalled, with both Hamas and Israel blaming each other for the impasse. Key sticking points have included the permanency of a ceasefire and the governance of Gaza after the war, with Israel staunchly opposing any return of Hamas to power in the enclave.
On the ground, Gaza rescue services reported at least 31 deaths and numerous injuries on Saturday from several Israeli strikes across the coastal strip. One strike reportedly destroyed the al-Ghoula family's home in Gaza City early in the morning, killing 11 people, including seven children. "A loud explosion woke us up, and everything shook. I was shocked to see it was our neighbors' house, the al-Ghoula family. No one there was wanted or posed any threat," recounted Ahmed Moussa.
"Terrorist activities"
AFP images from the Shuja'iyya neighborhood show residents sifting through smoking rubble and bodies wrapped in white sheets lying on the ground. Gaza's civil defense reported that five security personnel tasked with escorting humanitarian convoys were also killed by an Israeli strike as they drove through Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
"All individuals targeted in this strike were involved in terrorist activities," the Israeli army responded, asserting that it had fired "at a distance from humanitarian convoys" but did not comment on the strike on the al-Ghoula family's home.
Local rescuers reported that 15 more people were killed throughout the day in strikes across Gaza's north, center and south.
Far from Gaza, the Biden administration in the U.S. announced an $8 billion arms sale to Israel. Early Sunday, the Israeli army also reported intercepting "a missile launched from Yemen" before it entered Israeli territory. Alert sirens had earlier sounded in Talmei Elazar, in northern Israel.
On Friday, the military said it had intercepted a missile and a drone, both claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Iran-backed Houthis, who control large swathes of Yemen, have launched several drone and missile attacks against Israel since the Gaza war began, claiming to act in solidarity with Palestinians. The Houthis have also targeted ships linked to Israel, the U.S., or the U.K. sailing in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which left 1,208 people dead, mostly civilians, according to AFP figures based on official Israeli data.
On that day, 251 people were abducted. Of them, 96 remain hostages in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the Israeli army. At least 45,717 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza, according to the latest figures from Gaza Health Ministry on Saturday.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.