Hamas rejects new ceasefire conditions and fires rocket at Israel

Cairo., Hamas yesterday launched a rocket from the Gaza Strip against central Israel – without causing any casualties – after rejecting the new conditions imposed by Tel Aviv for negotiating a ceasefire, on a day in which 71 Palestinians were killed in Israeli bombings.

At Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo yesterday, neither Hamas nor Israel accepted the various compromises put forward by mediators, two Egyptian security sources said, casting doubt on the chances of success in ending the war, which has been going on for more than 10 months.

The mediators proposed a number of alternatives to the presence of Israeli forces in the Philadelphia Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor, which run through the centre of the Palestinian enclave, but neither side accepted them, Egyptian sources said.

Israel also expressed reservations about several Palestinian detainees whose release Hamas is demanding, and demanded their departure from Gaza if they are released, the sources added.

Hamas, for its part, said Israel had backtracked on its commitment to withdraw troops from the Philadelphia Corridor and had also presented new conditions that include screening displaced Palestinians when they return to the north of the enclave when the ceasefire begins.

We will not accept any retractions of what we agreed on July 2nd nor will we discuss new conditions.Hamas official Osama Hamdan told the group’s Al Aqsa television channel, as this round of negotiations concluded without any agreement.

The Israeli military ordered the evacuation of an area near the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Balah. The announcement sparked panic among patientsexplained the Ministry of Health of Gaza. Faced with this situation, officials explained that the hospital will continue to operate.

Meanwhile, the European Hospital in Gaza, in Khan Yunis, has resumed its activities after 50 days out of service, without receiving patients.

The death toll for Palestinians since October 7 has risen to 40,405, with 10,000 missing and 93,468 wounded, Palestinian officials said.