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SvennoJ 10 hours ago
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Hamas provides signs of life for some captives: Report

The Times of Israel, citing an unnamed Israeli official, says Hamas has provided signs of life for several captives held in Gaza as negotiations for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal continues.

The official said Israel knows the whereabouts of most of the captives, but declined to say if Hamas had provided a full list of those who are alive. The official also said Israel would not accept an end to the war as part of a deal, but is open to negotiating a “prolonged ceasefire”.

As of September 1, about 101 captives were believed to still be in Gaza, according to Israeli military. But in early December, Hamas said that 33 of them had been killed.

‘Not at any cost’: Israel’s Smotrich doubles down on opposition to Gaza deal

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says the country needs a “big deal that does not include surrender to Hamas” in Gaza.

“I believe that surrender deals that harm the great war achievements, harm us,” the leader of the ultranationalist Religious Zionist Party told Israeli radio station 103fm about the war on Gaza.

“Releasing terrorists with blood-stained hands is actually rebuilding Hamas leadership,” he said, in reference to Palestinian prisoners who could be released as part of a captive exchange deal.

Along with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Smotrich has been one of the staunchest opponents of a Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Israeli Democrats Party leader Yair Golan has also agreed that “we should not accept a small deal” but said the state should not give up on retrieving all the captives held in Gaza.

“We should go for a deal where everyone is released and build an alternative to Hamas,” he was quoted as saying by Israeli Army Radio.



UNRWA's Lazzarini says all rules of war broken in Gaza

UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said all rules of war have been breached in Gaza in the continuing Israeli military aggression.

“All wars have rules. All of those rules have been broken,” said Mr Lazzarini in a post on X. “Attacks on schools and hospitals have been commonplace. The world must not become numb."



14,500 children killed in Gaza, says UNRWA's Philippe Lazzarini

As many as 14,500 children have been reported killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war, UNRWA's Philippe Lazzarini said on X, quoting figures announced by Unicef.

"One child gets killed every hour. These are not numbers. These are lives cut short." Mr Lazzarini wrote on X. Describing the threat posed to children by the Israel's continuing aggression, the UNRWA chief said "killing children cannot be justified."

He said those children who survive are scarred physically and emotionally, and deprived of learning in the horrific living conditions in Gaza. "The clock is ticking for these children. They are losing their lives, their futures and mostly their hope," Mr Lazzarini wrote.