Israel-Hamas War: US Makes Its First Gaza Aid Airdrop As Mediators Inch Closer to Seeking Truce Deal

The United States has carried out the first of what it said would be a series of humanitarian airdrops of food into Gaza, as aid agencies warned of a growing humanitarian disaster in the Palestinian enclave in the absence of a ceasefire deal.

On Saturday, three C-130 military planes delivered more than 38,000 meals into a territory with the help of Jordanian forces. With talks in Egypt set to resume on Sunday, the framework for a deal on a six-week ceasefire was in place, with Israel’s agreement, and depended on the militant group Hamas agreeing to release hostages.

Israelis march in Jerusalem

Media reports said that thousands of Israelis marched in Jerusalem to demand the release of about 134 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. Protesters, led by families of hostages seized during Hamas’ deadly rampage through southern Israel on Oct. 7, arrived at the city at sundown. In Gaza, the health ministry said at least 11 Palestinians were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a tent in Rafah.

Gaza Ceasefire

The Israeli military said its forces killed eight militants in Khan Younis, around 20 militants in the central Gaza Strip and three more in Rimal, near Gaza City. More than a million Palestinians have been seeking refuge in the Rafah area, fleeing an Israeli offensive that has laid waste to much of Gaza, killing more than 30,000 people, according to the Hamas-run enclave’s health authorities. Israel launched the offensive in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, in which 1,200 people were killed in Israel and another 253 abducted, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel and Hamas have been negotiating via mediators including Egypt and Qatar. Two Egyptian security sources said delegations from both sides were expected in Cairo on Sunday to resume indirect talks, but an Israeli report cast doubt on this.

There was no immediate comment from Israel or Hamas. The Egyptian sources told Reuters that the parties had agreed on the duration of a truce, as well as hostage and prisoner releases, adding that completion of the deal still required an agreement on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from northern Gaza and a return of residents.

However, Israel’s Ynet news cited an unnamed senior official as saying Israel would not send a delegation to Cairo until it received a full list of hostages who were alive. A Palestinian official familiar with mediation efforts did not immediately confirm the Cairo talks. “When it comes to ending the war and pulling out forces out of Gaza, gaps remain unbridged,” the official said.

(With agency inputs)