The Israeli government and Hamas leadership want a ceasefire to facilitate a prisoner exchange, but are at a stalemate as they cannot agree on terms.
Both Israeli and Hamas leaders have expressed a desire to pause the ongoing violence to allow for exchanges, but ironing out the details of the agreement has proven difficult. There is.
Hamas has rejected Israel's offer for a long-term ceasefire and rejected the Jewish state's condition that its top commander leave the Gaza Strip for exile abroad.
Educators call on America's largest teachers union to withdraw support for Biden until 'permanent ceasefire' in Gaza
Smoke fills Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli shelling. (AFP via Getty Images)
Mediators from the United States, Qatar and Egypt are trying to negotiate terms for a month-long ceasefire in stages, starting with the release of civilians and eventually ending with the release of soldiers.
Hamas has largely refused to agree to terms that do not include a plan for a permanent end to violence in the region.
“We are in serious discussions with both sides,” Majid al-Ansari, a Qatari foreign ministry spokesman, said at a press conference this week. “We have presented ideas to both sides, and we are constantly getting responses from both sides, which in itself is cause for optimism.”
Hamas kills 21 Israeli soldiers in central Gaza, Prime Minister Netanyahu vows immediate retaliation
Israeli mobile artillery fires into Lebanon from northern Israel. (AP/Leo Correa)
An attack on Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip on Monday killed 21 soldiers, the army announced on Tuesday. The attack was the deadliest for Israeli forces since the October 7 Hamas-led massacre that triggered the war.
The Israeli military said its reservists were preparing explosives to destroy two buildings in central Gaza when insurgents fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a nearby tank.
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Hamas terrorists take part in a military parade in the central Gaza Strip to commemorate the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel. (Majidi Fatih/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A rocket explosion outside the building set off an explosive inside the building, causing both two-story buildings to collapse on top of the soldiers.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mourned the soldiers' deaths, saying Monday was “one of the toughest days” since the war began.
Fox News Digital’s Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
