Hamas studying new Israeli proposal on potential ceasefire

Issued on: 27/04/2024 – 07:56

4 min

Summary:

• Hamas said it had received on Saturday Israel’s official response to its position over ceasefire talks and will study the proposal before submitting its response, the group’s deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya said in a statement.
• A UN probe into Israeli allegations that 19 members of UNRWA participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks has closed one case due to the absence of any evidence from Israel and suspended four others, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday.
• Aid shipments to Gaza from Cyprus resumed late on Friday, a Cypriot source said, with a ship carrying food to the besieged Palestinian enclave after a pause following Israel’s killing of seven aid workers.
• At least 34,356 Palestinians have been killed and an estimated 77,368 have been injured in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Some 1,170 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks that sparked the war and 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.

7:13am: Gaza aid from Cyprus resumes after pause following aid worker killings, source says

Aid shipments to Gaza from Cyprus resumed late on Friday, a Cypriot source said, with a ship carrying food to the besieged Palestinian enclave after a pause following Israel’s killing of seven aid workers.

The World Central Kitchen NGO paused aid to review its activity in the territory after the early April attack, halting the direct shipments into Gaza from Cyprus.

A small cargo vessel left the port of Larnaca on Friday night with aid donated by the United Arab Emirates, a Cypriot source said.

5:30am: Fresh Israeli strikes around Rafah, say witnesses

Witnesses in besieged Gaza reported fresh Israeli strikes overnight into Saturday around Rafah, the last urban centre Israeli ground forces have yet to enter.

Plans for an Israeli incursion into the city, which military leaders say is necessary to uproot Hamas battalions, have sparked opposition among the international community due to the presence of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians seeking refuge there.

1:51am: Hamas says it received Israel’s official response to its position over ceasefire

Hamas said it had received on Saturday Israel’s official response to its position over ceasefire talks and will study the proposal before submitting its response, the group’s deputy chief in Gaza, Khalil Al-Hayya said in a statement.

12:46am: UN ends, suspends probes into five UNRWA staffers accused by Israel

A UN probe into Israeli allegations that 19 members of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks has closed one case due to the absence of any evidence from Israel and suspended four others, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Friday.

UNRWA was swept into controversy in January when Israel accused 12 of its 30,000 employees of being involved in the shocking cross-border attack, which led to the deaths of around 1,160 people – mostly civilians – according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.

The UN immediately fired the implicated staff members and launched an internal investigation to assess the agency’s neutrality, led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna.

In recent weeks, the UN received information on seven additional UNRWA staffers allegedly involved in the attack, leading to new investigations.

Dujarric said that of the initial group of 12 UNRWA members, one case was closed “as no evidence was provided by Israel to support the allegations against the staff member.”

“We are exploring corrective administrative action to be taken in that person’s case,” he said.

In addition, investigations into three other staffers were suspended, “as the information provided by Israel is not sufficient.”

Regarding the seven fresh cases, one of them was also suspended pending additional evidence from Israel.

The other accused staffers remain under investigation, Dujarric said.

12:09am: Paris students end Gaza war protests after street fight

Students at one of France’s most prestigious universities on Friday called off protests over the Gaza war after street scuffles between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups.

Administrators at the Institute of Political Studies, or Sciences Po, university in Paris acted to douse mounting tensions at the Paris establishment as demonstrations spread across American universities over the impact of the Gaza war.

Pro-Palestinian students have staged several days of sit-ins and protests at the 150-year-old university. Some blocked entrances to the university and tents were set up at the central courtyard for a protest camp.

• A delegation from mediator Egypt arrived in Israel Friday in a bid to reignite stalled negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza war including the potential release of hostages, Israeli and Egyptian media reported.
• Israeli officials told their Egyptian counterparts on Friday that Israel is ready to give hostage negotiations “one last chance” to reach a deal with Hamas before moving forward with an invasion of Rafah, Axios cited two Israeli officials as saying.
• Students in Paris inspired by Gaza solidarity encampments at campuses in the United States blocked access to a building at the elite Sciences Po Paris university prompting administrators to move all classes online.
• The European Union on Friday said it was giving an extra €68 million ($73 million) to provide desperately needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters, AP)