Israel New efforts for ceasefire in Gaza war
While Israel's military is preparing to capture the city of Gaza, mediators are making new efforts to end the war, according to media reports.
12.08.2025, 04:57
12.08.2025, 04:58
SDA
In addition to the USA, Qatar and Egypt are also making intensive efforts to resume indirect talks between Israel and the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas, Israeli media reported. US businessman Bishara Bahbah, who has been involved in contacts between the USA and Hamas in recent months, called on both warring parties to return to the negotiating table immediately.
An extension of the war would only increase the death toll in the Gaza Strip and endanger the lives of hostages held by Hamas, said Bahbah in an interview with the "Jerusalem Post". He is considered a confidant of US President Donald Trump. "Israel is in a situation it doesn't want to be in," Bahbah told the newspaper. "The Israeli public does not want to see Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip. And the situation for the Palestinians is untenable."
Trump: Remember October 7th
According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's new war plan envisages not only the capture of the city of Gaza but also the destruction of Hamas in the central refugee camps of the Gaza Strip. "In view of Hamas' refusal to lay down its arms, Israel has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas," Netanyahu told foreign journalists on Sunday. This was "the best way to end the war - and the best way to end it quickly".
According to the US news portal "Axios", US President Trump said that he did not believe that Hamas "will release the hostages in the current situation". In a brief telephone interview with "Axios", Trump did not want to comment on whether he supported Israel's planned expansion of the war. However, Trump seems to agree with Netanyahu's argument that more military pressure on Hamas is necessary, writes Axios.
Alluding to the massacre by Hamas and other terrorist groups in Israel on October 7, 2023, Trump told the portal: "Remember October 7, remember October 7". Around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage in Gaza. It was the trigger for the war. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in Gaza, more than 61,000 people have been killed since then. The barely verifiable figure does not distinguish between civilians and fighters.
Reports: Netanyahu not ready for any partial agreement
According to Israeli media reports, Netanyahu is only prepared to negotiate an agreement if it includes the release of all remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip and an end to the war on Israel's terms. This includes Hamas laying down its weapons. According to "Axios", Qatar and the USA are working on a new proposal for such a comprehensive agreement to release the hostages and end the war. To this end, US special envoy Steve Witkoff recently met with Qatar's head of government Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
However, US businessman Bahbah warned in an interview with the Israeli television station i24 News that negotiations on a comprehensive agreement could take months. It is unrealistic to expect progress in this regard during the ongoing fighting, Bahbah was quoted as saying. Instead, he pleaded for a 60-day ceasefire. "This would save lives, protect the hostages from further danger and create the conditions for real progress," the broadcaster quoted him as saying. A proposal for such a 60-day ceasefire had previously been on the table, but indirect negotiations on the matter had recently reached an impasse.
EU condemns killing of Al-Jazeera journalist
Meanwhile, the EU condemned the killing of the correspondent of the Arabic television channel Al-Jazeera and four other employees by the Israeli armed forces in the Gaza Strip. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas also announced that the Israeli accusation that the group were Hamas terrorists was acknowledged. "But in such cases, clear evidence must be presented in the spirit of the rule of law," the Estonian demanded. According to the Arab broadcaster, Israel's military had killed the correspondent Anas al-Sharif and his colleagues in a targeted airstrike on a tent for journalists in the city of Gaza.
Israel's military confirmed the death of al-Sharif. The 28-year-old had been posing as an Al-Jazeera journalist, but had led a terrorist cell of the Islamist Hamas. According to the organization Reporters Without Borders, a freelance journalist was also killed, bringing the total number of deaths to six. Following a video conference of EU foreign ministers, Kallas also called for more support for the suffering people in the sealed-off Gaza Strip. Although more relief supplies are arriving, the need is much greater. "We urge Israel to allow more trucks in and to facilitate a better distribution of aid."
