Israel and Hamas show signs of 'readiness' for a new truce

The head of the political bureau of the Hamas movement, Ismail Haniyeh, is heading to Egypt on Wednesday to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel expressed its willingness to agree to a new truce in exchange for the release of hostages. 

More than two months into the war, the conflicting parties are signaling openness to a new ceasefire after a previous truce, which lasted a week, allowed for the release of 105 hostages from Gaza in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons. 

In this context, Haniyeh, accompanied by a "leadership delegation" from the movement, is heading to Egypt for several meetings, including a crucial one with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel, to discuss "halting the aggression and the war, paving the way for a prisoner exchange deal, and ending the blockade on the Gaza Strip," according to a source in Hamas cited by Agence France-Presse. 

On the other hand, Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced on Tuesday that "Israel is ready for a new humanitarian ceasefire and additional humanitarian assistance to allow for the release of hostages." 

The spark of the war ignited on October 7 with an unprecedented attack by Hamas inside Israel from the Gaza Strip, resulting in about 1,140 deaths, mostly civilians. Around 250 hostages were taken to the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli authorities, with 129 of them still held in Gaza. 

In response to the attack, Israel pledged to "eliminate" Hamas and launched a wide-scale offensive causing massive destruction in the Gaza Strip. The airstrikes resulted in at least 19,667 deaths, with about 70 percent of them being women and children, according to the latest tally from the Hamas government on Tuesday. 

AFP