Chinanews.com, December 17 Comprehensive foreign media reported that on the 16th local time, a new round of large-scale Palestinian-Israeli conflicts entered the 71st day, and the fighting between the Israeli army and the Palestinian armed group (Hamas) continued. According to the latest figures, the death toll on both sides has exceeded 20,000. As the Israeli offensive has expanded and deepened, southern Gaza has been caught in artillery fire. At the same time, sources said Israel and Qatar were exploring the resumption of ceasefire talks in Gaza.
Data map: Israeli troops fire artillery shells at the Gaza Strip.
More than 20,000 people died as a result of the clashes
The Israeli prime minister called the "manslaughter" of the hostages heartbreaking
According to Reuters, on the 15th local time, the Israel Defense Forces admitted that during the Israeli army's military operation in Shejaya, northern Gaza Strip, they "mistakenly regarded the three Israeli hostages as a threat and shot them."
On the 16th local time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference that he felt "heartbroken" about it, and this incident "also broke the heart of the whole country".
"I am deeply saddened, but I would like to make one point: military pressure is necessary in order for the abductees to return home and to defeat our enemies. Netanyahu said.
An anonymous Israeli official said on the 16th that according to a preliminary investigation, the three hostages who were "mistakenly killed" were holding white flags at the time, and the report said that the incident increased the pressure on the Israeli government. On the 16th local time, thousands of people demonstrated outside the military base in Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel, demanding that the government reach an agreement with Hamas to rescue the remaining more than 100 hostages. More than 120 people are still reportedly being held hostage by Hamas.
On December 2, local time, people in the Khan Younis Hamad residential area in the southern Gaza Strip fled their homes.
At the same time, as the Israeli offensive expands and deepens, many cities in southern Gaza have been caught in artillery fire. According to Qatari TV, on the evening of the 16th local time, the Israeli army bombed a house in a residential area of Rafah City in the southern Gaza Strip, killing and injuring dozens of Palestinians. In addition, Israeli forces shelled the eastern and central regions of Khan Younis.
As of the 15th, at least 20,288 people have died in this round of clashes between Palestine and Israel. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on the 16th that the new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict has caused about 18,800 Palestinians to die in the Gaza Strip, more than 51,000 to be injured, and many people are missing. The death toll among Palestinians in the West Bank rose to 288. The Israeli side previously said that the death toll in this round of clashes was about 1,200.
Israel and Qatar held talks
Explore the resumption of ceasefire talks in Gaza
According to the US news website Axios, citing sources, Israeli and Qatari officials held talks in Norway on the 16th to discuss matters such as the resumption of ceasefire talks between the two sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to promote the restoration of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the continued release of detainees.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Salman met with the head of Israel's intelligence and secret service (Mossad) David Barnea in the Norwegian capital Oslo, sources said. Barnea is also likely to meet with Egyptian officials. In addition, the heads of the CIA and Egyptian intelligence services were briefed on the meeting.
Sources also noted that there are likely to be a number of major obstacles to the resumption of hostage talks, including disagreements within Hamas on possible conditions for the talks. The talks were "only the beginning of further negotiations" and stressed that the process would be "long, difficult and complex".
Data map: Israeli tanks in the Gaza Strip.
At the end of November, the two sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reached a temporary ceasefire agreement for a week under Qatar's mediation, during which Hamas released 80 Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel's release of 240 Palestinians, and Hamas released more than 20 foreign hostages. After the expiration of the agreement, the conflict continued, and the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip gradually advanced into the south.
According to the report, this is the first time that senior officials from Qatar and Israel have held talks on the Palestinian-Israeli situation since the two sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict resumed fighting in the Gaza Strip on December 1.
Hamas, for its part, stressed in a new statement that "[we] will not start any negotiations on the exchange of prisoners unless the aggression against our people is completely stopped". The statement said that Hamas had "communicated this position to all mediators."