Palestinians carrying a victim after shootings on humanitarian aid seekers in Rafah, during a distribution by the controversial NGO Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), on July 12, 2025. Photo AFP.
During the talks in Doha, launched Sunday through mediators — Qatar, the United States and Egypt — the Israeli military continued its offensive in the Gaza Strip, where 14 Palestinians were killed in new strikes, according to the local Civil Defense. The war in Gaza was triggered by an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. In retaliation, the Israeli military launched a deadly and destructive offensive, capturing large areas of Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently reaffirmed the war objectives: to free hostages held in Gaza, destroy Hamas, and expel it from Gaza. He previously indicated his intention to take control of the Palestinian territory located along Israel’s southern border.
The negotiations in Doha are encountering “obstacles and complex difficulties,” one of the two Palestinian sources told AFP, blaming “the Israeli side” for sticking to a map that foresees “the maintenance of its forces on more than 40% of the area of Gaza.” According to this source, the Israeli military is considering redeploying all around the territory of over two million inhabitants, who have been besieged by Israel for 21 months and are living in terrible conditions, according to the UN. Israel’s current goal is “to cram hundreds of thousands of displaced people” into southern Gaza “in preparation for the forced displacement of the population to Egypt or other countries,” the same source accused.
‘Progress’ despite difficulties
The mediators “have asked both parties to postpone negotiations on the (Israeli) withdrawal until the arrival of the U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff,” the source continued.
“The Hamas movement has demanded a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from all areas recaptured by Israel after March 2, 2025,” the second Palestinian source told AFP, accusing Israel of “delaying and obstructing the agreement in order to continue its war of extermination.” However, this source noted “progress” on issues related to humanitarian aid entry into Gaza and the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Of the 251 people abducted during the Oct. 7 attack, 49 remain held in Gaza, including 27 whom the Israeli military has declared dead.
Before returning on Friday from a visit to the United States where he met President Donald Trump, Netanyahu said Thursday he was ready to negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Gaza after a possible 60-day truce. But he conditioned a permanent ceasefire on Hamas disarming and relinquishing governance of the territory.
‘250 terrorist targets’
In the Gaza Strip, among the 14 dead, a man, his wife, and their child died in their tent following an Israeli night strike in a displaced persons camp in Deir al-Balah (center), according to Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Civil Defense. The Israeli army stated in a communiqué that it “struck approximately 250 terrorist targets” over the past 48 hours across Palestinian territory. These targets included “fighters, booby-trapped buildings, weapons depots, anti-tank missile launch sites, sniper posts, tunnels, and other terrorist infrastructure,” it detailed.
The Oct. 7 attack caused 1,219 deaths on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data. At least 57,823 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza, according to data from the Gaza Ministry of Health, deemed reliable by the UN.
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