Truce efforts intensified this week as Qatar and fellow mediators Egypt and the United States scrambled to secure a ceasefire before Israeli troops enter Rafah, the last major population centre in Gaza untouched by Israeli ground troops. "Even if we achieve it, we will enter Rafah," he said at a televised news conference Saturday. "The pattern in the last few days is not really very promising," he said at the Munich Security Conference. They include a complete pause in fighting, the release of Hamas prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Militants also took about 250 people hostage, 130 of whom are still in Gaza, including 30 who are presumed dead, according to Israeli figures.

Source: The Hindu February 18, 2024 16:21 UTC