The war between Israel and Hamas entered its 114th day on Sunday, January 28. While fighting rages in Khan Younes, a new round of negotiations was held in Paris.
Deadly fighting on Sunday pitted the Israeli army against Palestinian Hamas in Khan Younes, the epicenter in the southern Gaza Strip of the war ravaging the small Palestinian territory, while in Paris, the United States, Egypt and Qatar worked to negotiate a truce.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations called on donor countries to guarantee the continuation of aid to civilians in Gaza, despite the suspected involvement of employees of the Palestinian Refugee Agency, UNRWA, in the Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7.
This led to the deaths of around 1,140 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
In response, Israel vowed to “annihilate” the Islamist movement—which, like the United States and the European Union, it classifies as terrorist—and launched a vast military operation in Gaza, which resulted in 26,422 killed, the majority of them women, children and teenagers, according to the latest death toll on Sunday from the Gaza Health Ministry.
‘Intense Fighting’ in Khan Younes
On the ground, on the 114th day of the war, the Israeli army described “intense fighting” in Khan Younes, which it considers a Hamas stronghold, reporting that it had killed “terrorists and seized large quantities of weapons.”
At least 24 people were killed during the day in this large southern town, which has been relentlessly shelled by Israeli aircraft, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Clashes took place in particular around the Nasser and al-Amal hospitals, which are now only partially functional and shelter thousands of refugees fleeing the shelling.
Crucial Aid
In New York, António Guterres called on donor countries that have suspended funding to UNRWA to “at least guarantee” the continuation of its operations in the besieged territory, where humanitarian aid is trickling in.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, also urged donors on X “not to suspend their funding.”
Several countries, including the United States and Germany, the main contributors, did so after UNRWA announced on Friday that 12 of its employees were suspected of involvement in the Hamas attack.
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Norway, another major donor, said on Sunday that it would maintain its funding, so as not to “collectively punish millions of people.”
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, accused Guterres of choosing to ignore “the evidence” of UNRWA’s involvement in “terrorism.”
Hamas, which took power in Gaza in 2007, denounced “threats” against the agency. In the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Authority denounced a campaign to “liquidate the Palestinian refugee question.”
More than 1.3 million displaced Gazans, according to the UN, are massed against the closed border with Egypt, fleeing the advance of Israeli troops.
On the Israeli side, on Sunday morning, demonstrators demanding that aid not reach Gaza until the hostages have been released blocked the entry of trucks carrying humanitarian supplies at the Kerem Shalom crossing near Rafah.
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‘Constructive’ Truce Meeting
To negotiate a truce in the hostilities, CIA Director William Burns met senior Israeli and Egyptian officials and the Qatari Prime Minister in Paris on Sunday, according to sources close to the participants.
The meeting was “constructive,” said the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, adding that there were “still differences” between the parties, who “will continue to discuss this this week in other meetings.”
Qatar, Egypt and the United States were instrumental in negotiating the first truce at the end of November, during which some 100 of the 250 or so people kidnapped in Israel on October 7 were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
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According to the Israeli authorities, 132 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, 28 of whom are presumed dead.
According to the New York Times, the draft agreement would involve a two-month truce and the release of all hostages, as well as Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Syria-Jordan Border
In an explosive regional context, three American servicemen were killed and 25 wounded in a drone attack in Jordan, Washington announced on Sunday, pointing the finger of blame at pro-Iranian groups.
This is the first time that American soldiers have been killed in the Middle East since the start of the war in Gaza, which is exacerbating tensions against the backdrop of the latent conflict between Israel and Iran.
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With AFP
