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Live blog: Hamas not to ‘derail’ Gaza truce push: Blinken tells Israel
Israel’s war on Gaza, now in its 318th day, has killed at least 40,099 Palestinians — mostly women and children — and wounded over 92,609 others, a conservative estimate, with 10,000+ estimated to be buried under debris of bombed homes.
Israel has decided to escalate its carnage in besieged Gaza, according to an Israeli news website. / Photo: AA
AA
Israel has decided to escalate its carnage in besieged Gaza, according to an Israeli news website. / Photo: AA
Monday, August 19, 2024
0528 GMT — Blinken has told Israel that Hamas won’t ‘derail’ Gaza ceasefire push.
It is a “decisive moment” in the Gaza ceasefire talks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, describing the latest diplomatic push by Washington to strike a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the war as “probably the best, maybe the last opportunity” to also get the hostages home.
Speaking before he met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the top US diplomat said Washington was also working to ensure that there was no regional escalation amid concerns over a possible attack by Iran on Israel following the assassination of former Hamas politburo leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
More updates 
0405 GMT — UN warns of ‘unacceptable’ level of violence against aid workers
The United Nations has condemned the “unacceptable” level of violence becoming commonplace against humanitarian workers, a record 280 of whom were killed worldwide in 2023.
And it warned that Israel’s war in Gaza is potentially fueling even higher numbers of such deaths this year.
“The normalization of violence against aid workers and the lack of accountability are unacceptable, unconscionable and enormously harmful for aid operations everywhere,” Joyce Msuya, acting director of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said in a statement on World Humanitarian Day.
“With 280 aid workers killed in 33 countries last year, 2023 marked the deadliest year on record for the global humanitarian community,” a 137 percent increase over 2022, when 118 aid workers died, OCHA said in the statement.
2213 GMT — Israel orders army to intensify Gaza onslaught
Israel has decided to escalate its carnage in besieged Gaza to improve its position in Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap talks, an Israeli news website said.
“The Israeli security cabinet recently instructed the military to intensify its operations in Gaza to strengthen Israel’s position in the negotiations,” Walla reported, citing unnamed political sources.
2237 GMT — Israeli army wounds Palestinian journalist covering Gaza carnage
The Israeli army wounded a Palestinian journalist while she was covering the invasion of northwestern Khan Younis in the southern besieged Gaza.
Israeli occupation forces fired directly at a group of journalists, striking Salma al Qadoumi in the back, witnesses told Anadolu Agency.
2314 GMT — Biden says Gaza ceasefire deal ‘still possible’
US President Joe Biden said he believes that a ceasefire in besieged Gaza is “still possible.”
The talks are “still underway. We’re not giving up. (It’s) still possible,” Biden told reporters.
2204 GMT — Saudi foreign minister, Blinken discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts
Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, discussed efforts to reach a ceasefire in besieged Gaza in a phone call with his US counterpart Antony Blinken.
The top diplomats discussed “developments in the region, including efforts to end the war on the Gaza Strip and developments in Sudan and Yemen,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
2153 GMT — Hamas informs Türkiye of stalled negotiations with Israel despite US optimism
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas informed Türkiye that despite the US painting a rosy picture of negotiations on reaching a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal, the actual situation is not like that, and Israel did not even respond to the proposals from mediators in the last week’s talks.
According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Hamas officials contacted Türkiye over the weekend and provided information about the negotiation process with Israel.
The officials pointed out that although the Americans portrayed the progress of the negotiations in an optimistic manner, this was not actually the case.
According to Hamas, the conditions put forward by Israel have even fallen short of the scenario supported by the UN Security Council on June 10 and the conditions approved by Hamas on July 2.
It stressed that Israel wants Hamas to accept Israel’s presence in the Philadelphi Corridor, to control the checkpoints in the Netzarim Corridor and to monitor Palestinians passing from south to north and to veto 100 names from a list of about 300 prisoners that Hamas wants to be released.
Another demand involves the number of Palestinians that Israel wants to be exiled from Gaza and Ramallah. In this context, Israel wants 200 people to leave Palestine.
For our live updates from Sunday, August 18, 2024, click here.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD AND AGENCIES
