New Delhi:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shut down talks of ceasefire negotiations, citing an unwillingness to comply with Hamas’s conditions for ending the conflict in Gaza.

Here are 10 points on this big story:

Doha:

Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday accused Israel’s prime minister of sabotaging efforts by mediators involved in ongoing talks aimed at a truce and hostage exchange in Gaza.

Qatar-based Haniyeh said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to “invent constant justifications for the continuation of aggression, expanding the circle of conflict, and sabotaging efforts made through various mediators and parties”.

Qatari, Egyptian and US mediators met a Hamas delegation in Cairo on Saturday in the latest bid to halt the devastating almost seven-month-old war that has triggered worldwide protests.

A senior Hamas source close to the negotiations told AFP there would be “a new round” of talks on Sunday.

Negotiators seeking to halt the devastating war have proposed an initial 40-day pause in the fighting and an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

Haniyeh said Hamas had approached the talks with “seriousness and positivity” but questioned “the meaning of an agreement if a ceasefire is not its first result”.

Earlier Netanyahu had rejected Hamas’s demand to end the war.

Israel was “not ready to accept a situation in which the Hamas battalions come out of their bunkers, take control of Gaza again, rebuild their military infrastructure, and return to threaten the citizens of Israel”, he said.

Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas for months.

The Qatar-based leader of Hamas’s political office said the United States had “provided cover for this occupation, should be the one to stop it instead of supplying it with weapons of destruction and extermination”.

Haniyeh added that Hamas “remains eager to reach a comprehensive and interconnected agreement in stages, ending the aggression, ensuring withdrawal, and achieving a serious prisoner exchange deal”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

As the Israel-Hamas war intensifies, a new video of Israel’s elite Egoz commando unit killing a group of Hamas operatives using drones and grenades in southern Gaza has surfaced online, as per a report in the New York Post.

The 28-second short clip shows the aftermath of a shootout between Israeli Defence Forces soldiers and two Hamas operatives, who were sheltering inside a structure in Khan Younis. The Israeli forces use a drone to determine the precise location of the shooters among the debris as the operatives shelter inside the crumbling structure.

Next, a commando manages to kill the Hamas members by carefully throwing a grenade out of a window. A quick glance reveals the dead Hamas operatives along with the weapons they seemed to be carrying.

In another incident shown on camera, the Egoz unit used a “pressure cooker” strategy to eliminate two operatives in a different part of Khan Younis by firing nonstop at them within a building, as per the outlet. In the aftermath, footage showed the IDF soldiers surveying the structure and firing many times as they went through each room until they found the dead Hamas operatives.

According to the IDF, the commandos discovered a weapons stockpile during the assault that contained many Kalashnikov rifles, magazine ammunition, grenades, and explosives.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen clashed throughout the Gaza Strip over the weekend, both sides said on February 25, as mediating countries sought common ground for a possible ceasefire that would release hostages held by Hamas.

Prospects for securing any truce looked uncertain, however, with Israel saying it was, in parallel, planning to expand its sweep to destroy Hamas, while the Islamist faction stood firm on its demand for a permanent end to the nearly five-month-old war, as per Reuters.

Almost 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, Gaza medical officials say. The Hamas raid of October 7 killed 1,200 people in Israel, which has also lost 241 soldiers in Gaza ground fighting that followed, according to official tallies.

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Saturday discussed the worsening security and humanitarian situation in West Asia. Both leaders expressed their concern over the increase in terrorism, violence, and civilian casualties in the area, largely owing to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 

PM Modi and President el-Sisi agreed on the need to quickly restore peace and stability and to provide humanitarian assistance to those who have been affected by the conflict.

“Yesterday, spoke with President @AlsisiOfficial. Exchanged views on the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in West Asia. We share concerns regarding terrorism, violence, and loss of civilian lives. We agree on the need for early restoration of peace and stability and facilitating humanitarian assistance,” PM Modi wrote on X. 

Yesterday, spoke with President @AlsisiOfficial. Exchanged views on the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in West Asia. We share concerns regarding terrorism, violence and loss of civilian lives. We agree on the need for early restoration of peace and stability…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 29, 2023

The two leaders also exchanged views on the latest developments in the “Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip”, a spokesperson for the Egyptian Presidency said.

“President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received a phone call from Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, in which views were exchanged between the two leaders on the latest developments in the Israeli military operations in the Gaza strip, and the danger of continuing the current escalation, whether due to its grave effects on the lives of civilians, or the threat it poses to security,” a Facebook post from the spokersperson read.

The October 7 attack by Hamas killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in Israel. In retaliation, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed more than 8,000 people, half of them children, the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the besieged Palestinian territory has said. 

India on Friday abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas war, saying that the resolution does not mention Hamas and that the UN needs to send a clear message against terrorism.

“We hope that the deliberations of this assembly will send a clear message against terror and violence and expand prospects for diplomacy and dialogue while addressing the humanitarian crisis that confronts us,” said India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Yojna Patel.

India expressed grave concern over the worsening situation in Gaza and urged both sides to cease hostilities and pursue a peaceful resolution through dialogue.

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Saturday discussed the worsening security and humanitarian situation in West Asia. Both leaders expressed their concern over the increase in terrorism, violence, and civilian casualties in the area, largely owing to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 

PM Modi and President el-Sisi agreed on the need to quickly restore peace and stability and to provide humanitarian assistance to those who have been affected by the conflict.

“Yesterday, spoke with President @AlsisiOfficial. Exchanged views on the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in West Asia. We share concerns regarding terrorism, violence, and loss of civilian lives. We agree on the need for early restoration of peace and stability and facilitating humanitarian assistance,” PM Modi wrote on X. 

Yesterday, spoke with President @AlsisiOfficial. Exchanged views on the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in West Asia. We share concerns regarding terrorism, violence and loss of civilian lives. We agree on the need for early restoration of peace and stability…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 29, 2023

The two leaders also exchanged views on the latest developments in the “Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip”, a spokesperson for the Egyptian Presidency said.

“President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received a phone call from Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, in which views were exchanged between the two leaders on the latest developments in the Israeli military operations in the Gaza strip, and the danger of continuing the current escalation, whether due to its grave effects on the lives of civilians, or the threat it poses to security,” a Facebook post from the spokersperson read.

The October 7 attack by Hamas killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, in Israel. In retaliation, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed more than 8,000 people, half of them children, the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the besieged Palestinian territory has said. 

India on Friday abstained from a UN General Assembly resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas war, saying that the resolution does not mention Hamas and that the UN needs to send a clear message against terrorism.

“We hope that the deliberations of this assembly will send a clear message against terror and violence and expand prospects for diplomacy and dialogue while addressing the humanitarian crisis that confronts us,” said India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Yojna Patel.

India expressed grave concern over the worsening situation in Gaza and urged both sides to cease hostilities and pursue a peaceful resolution through dialogue.

New Delhi:

A massive explosion ripped through a hospital in Gaza, killing at least 500 people on Tuesday. The incident sparked global outrage and demonstrations in several Muslim-majority countries. Israel and Palestine exchanged blame for the incident, which US President Joe Biden denounced while en route to Israel.

While the Israeli army pinned the blame on a “misfired rocket” by Palestine’s Islamic Jihad group, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says Israel was behind the bombing of the Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist hospital.

But what is the Islamic Jihad group?

The Beginnings

Designated as a terrorist organisation by the US State Department, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), an ally of Hamas, violently opposes the existence of Israel. 

The group’s founders, Fathi Shaqaqi and Abd al-Aziz Awda, were students in Egypt and members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist social movement founded by Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Sometime in the late 1970s the two felt that the Brotherhood was not fully committed to the Palestinian cause. 

Taking inspiration from Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini-led Iranian revolution, Shaqaqi and Awda created an offshoot group with the sole objective of militant destruction of the Israeli state. 

In 1981, the Egyptian government exiled PIJ, which had split from the Muslim Brotherhood, to Gaza after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981. 

Operations In Gaza 

The PIJ functions as a decentralised, compartmentalised organisation that typically prioritises attacking Israel, while avoiding the prominent social, welfare, and political roles played by other Islamic extremist groups in the region like Hamas, Fatah, or even the Lebanon-based Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

Their first successful strike is thought to have been in Gaza, the killing of an Israeli military police captain in August 1987, a few months before the first Palestinian intifada.

While in Gaza, the Islamic Jihad killed an Israeli military police captain just a few months before the start of the First Intifada in 1987. 

In the same year, they were expelled to Lebanon where the Islamic Jihad built a strong relationship with Hezbollah and even received arms training from Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Two years later, Shaqaqi established the group’s official headquarters in Syria’s Damascus where they continue to operate to this day. 

Relationship With Hamas

Unlike Hamas, the Islamic Jihad does not carry out any form of social service in Gaza nor does it intend to fight for political office or intend to open diplomatic channels with Israel. 

The one thing that is common between the two groups is the fact that both oppose Israel. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have often coordinated militant operations in the Palestinian enclave. 

However, there have been times when Hamas, ironically, has cautioned the Islamic Jihad against attacking Israel. The Islamic Jihad, on most occasions, acts independently. Primarily focused on military confrontations, there have been times when the Islamic Jihad has taken the front seat while Hamas remained on the sidelines during clashes with Israel.

Relationship With Iran 

The Iranian Revolution’s sphere of influence in its first decade was confined to Shi’a groups in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Gulf Emirates. It failed to make headways in countries with a majority Sunni population nor did its fundamentalist ideas entice Islamic militant groups.

While Shaqaqi and Awda drew inspiration from the Iranian Revolution, Iran did not pay it any heed. Ayatollah Khomenei and Iranian leaders remained steadfast in propagating Shi’ite values without focusing on Sunni-dominated nations.

However, a change occurred. In the late 80s, after the end of the Iran-Iraq War, Iran decided to export its fundamentalism to countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, and more importantly, Palestine — coinciding with the First Intifada. And after Israel kicked the Islamic Jihad to Lebanon, the group came under direct influence of Iran.

According to the US State Department, it is Iran that funds the Islamic Jihad’s budget, exactly like it reportedly does for Hamas and Hezbollah. The US also blames the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria for providing a safe haven to the group in Damascus. 

Attacks Carried Out By Islamic Jihad 

The Islamic Jihad’s modus operandi includes suicide bombings targetting Israeli civilians and military personnel. 

1987: Killing Of an Israeli military police commander in Gaza

1994: Car bomb attack killing nine and injuring 50 aboard a public bus

1995: Suicide bomb attack killing 18 soldiers and one civilian in ISrael’s Netanya.

1996: Suicide bomb attack at a Tel Aviv shopping mall killing 13 and injuring 75. 

2003: Suicide bomb attack a a Haifa restaurant killing 22 and injuring 60.

Along with other suicide bombings, the Islamic Jihad also works with Hamas to launch rockets into Israel.

New Delhi:

High-altitude footage released by the Israel Defense Forces – and shared online by an open-source intelligence handle Monday evening – spotlighted devastating aerial strikes on Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip. The 14-second clip begins with multiple rocket missile strikes on what seem to be residential colonies. At least six explosions are recorded – flashes of orange followed by plumes of ominous and slow-spreading dark grey smoke that blanket the surrounding areas.

The camera then seems to pan and zoom in to show smoldering concrete shells that were once houses and apartment blocks. The centre of the neighbourhood appears to have been completely levelled.

There is absolutely no movement of sign of life.

Footage released by the IDF showing Simultaneous Strikes on Hamas Positions in the Gaza Strip and the Aftermath and Damage that followed. pic.twitter.com/ZUXbvlTBJM

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 9, 2023

Multiple reports indicate that over 1,300 people have been killed in a bloody and brutal war after Hamas fighters took Israel by surprise and stormed past one of the world’s most fortified borders.

So far more than 800 people have died in Israel and around 560 in Gaza. Several thousands more have been injured and, according to the United Nations, 1.23 lakh have been displaced so far. There is no estimate of property damage yet but this likely to run into the billions by the time the dust settles.

An Israeli government bent on revenge has vowed to obliterate the Hamas; Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, which is home to 2.3 million people and is already a heavily blockaded strip of land. “No electricity, no food, no water, no gas. It’s all closed,” he said.

READ | Israel Orders “Complete Siege” On Gaza, Cuts Off Food, Water: 10 Points

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared war on Hamas and has vowed to reduce to rubble all of the group’s hideouts in Gaza. He has warned civilians to stay away from such structures

However, as ex-PM Yair Lapid told NDTV, Israel appears less concerned about the death of civilians and non-combatants; “We are going to do our best to avoid killing bystanders and collateral damage, but there will be (collateral damage) because this war is in a very densely populated area,” he said.

READ |“There Will Be Collateral Damage…”: Ex-Israel PM’s Warning To Hamas

On Day 3 of the war, Israel fighter jets and attack helicopters continue to pound the Gaza Strip. The IDF said over 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Strip had been attacked since Sunday night.

Tel Aviv has also massed tens of thousands of troops along the Gaza border.

Meanwhile, Hamas has kept up a steady barrage of rocket strikes while hundreds of its gunmen engage Israeli ground forces in border towns. Israeli officials have accused the Hamas of going door-to-door to take hostages back to Gaza, and that these include children and elderly people.

READ | Video: How Party Turned Into Tragedy As Hamas Gunmen Storm Israeli Music Festival

The war – the bloodiest in nearly five decades – broke early Saturday morning after an estimated 1,000 Hamas gunmen attacked Israeli border posts under the cover of a barrage of rockets that proved too much even for that country’s famed Iron Dome, or all-weather aerial defence system.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh has vowed to continue “the battle to liberate our land…”, and has called on “resistance fighters in the West Bank” as well as in “Arab and Islamic nations” to join the war.

The attack has also prompted questions over the failure of Mossad and Israel’s much-vaunted intelligence network to raise a red flag. Experts suggest this means Hamas is evolving as a military outfit – into one capable of conducting top-secret long-term strategic operations.