Concerns are mounting over an Israeli ground invasion of southern Rafah city – home to an estimated 1.4 million displaced Palestinians – as the UN warns of a “large scale” loss of life. Hamas responded “positively” to the framework of a proposal for the latest truce in the Gaza war, but Qatar and the US say any deal will take time. US Secretary of State Blinken is in Israel to discuss Hamas’s response to the proposed truce deal and an Israel-Hamas prisoner swap after visits to Egypt and Qatar. At least 27,585 people have been killed and 66,978 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the October 7 Hamas attacks stands at 1,139. Hamas does not want anything short of a prolonged ceasefire Hashem Ahelbarra Doha Hamas’s document was leaked earlier today and I know from our sources that the bulk of this is authentic. It is different from the previous agreement, as it is based on phases. It is very important for Hamas because they believe this time anything short of a prolonged ceasefire is a big no. The situation is delicate for the Americans. The reason Blinken is going to Israel is to put pressure on the Israelis to accommodate some of those demands for this deal to move forward. Ultimately, it is about how this deal will be perceived by the Israelis and by the Palestinians. It’s very crucial for the political survival of Hamas and more so for Netanyahu. Click here to share on social media Dozens of Palestinian fighters killed in Gaza: Israeli military Israel’s military says the fighters were killed in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis over the past 24 hours. Israeli soldiers had located large quantities of weapons and uncovered more tunnel shafts in the area, the military said in a statement. A picture taken from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip shows smoke rising over buildings in Khan Younis following Israeli bombardment on February 4, 2024 [Said Khatib/AFP] Click List of key events, day 124 On the 124th day of Israel’s war on Gaza, here are some key developments: Local sources reported on Tuesday that six civilians were killed in Israeli shelling that targeted their vehicle in the Khirbat al-Adas neighbourhood in Rafah city, in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. Saudi Arabia said it will not have diplomatic relations with Israel unless there is an independent Palestinian state. The US House of Representatives rejected a Republican-led bill to provide $17.6bn in assistance to Israel on Tuesday. Israeli forces on Tuesday shot dead 18-year-old Palestinian Mahmoud Soud Titi at the Beit Furik checkpoint, east of Nablus, after he allegedly attempted a stabbing attack, Wafa reported. Read the rest of the list here. A girl checks a roster of the names of families due to receive bedding supplies from a refugee shelter in Rafah [AFP] Click here to share on social media Israel will likely want more rounds of talks after Hamas truce response Rory Challands Reporting from occupied East Jersalem This response was passed from Hamas through Qatar to the Mossad, and it’s being picked apart and analysed by the Israeli leadership right now and for the hours to come. What we don’t know yet is what their response is likely to be. We get the impression from the Qataris that they are optimistic, that this is something that can achieve a breakthrough deal. There is less optimism coming from the Americans – and there is much less optimism coming from the Israelis. It is hard to square the details that we are getting from this leaked document and Hamas’s overall demand, which is essential that Israel ends the war in return for the exchange of captives and a ceasefire. Israel’s war goals are to keep its occupation in Gaza and to eliminate Hamas as a military force. These two things don’t seem reconcilable. So we may well have more rounds of negotiations to go. Click Israeli air strikes over Homs killed and wounded civilians: Syrian military We are getting more details on the air strikes on Syria’s Homs city: Syrian state news agency SANA quoted an unidentified military official as saying the strikes late Tuesday damaged both private and public property, without giving additional details. Israeli fighter jets reportedly struck the Syrian city and countryside, flying from over the Mediterranean Sea near the Lebanese coastal city of Tripoli. The pro-government Sham FM radio station said the areas struck included the affluent al-Malaab neighbourhood and Hamra Street. It said Israel hit farmland in al-Waer, causing fires but no casualties. Britain-based pro-opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Humanitarian Rights said at least six civilians were killed, among them a woman and a child, as well as two Hezbollah fighters. At least nine explosions were heard in Homs and its outskirts where Hezbollah is reportedly present. Click Hamas seeks prisoner-captive exchange, Israeli forces withdrawal Al Jazeera has seen Hamas’s counterproposal to a truce deal. The Palestinian group suggests a three-stage ceasefire plan in response to the offer presented by Qatari and Egyptian mediators after negotiations with Israel and the US. Here is a summary of the proposal: According to the counterproposal, all Israeli women captives, males under 19, the elderly and the sick would be released during the first 45-day phase in exchange for the release of Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails. The remaining male captives would be freed during the second phase, and the remains of those killed in fighting exchanged in the third phase. By the end of the third phase, Hamas would expect the sides to have reached an agreement on an end to the war. Hamas said in an addendum to the proposal it wants the release of 1,500 prisoners, one-third of whom it will select from a list of Palestinians handed life sentences by Israel. The truce would also increase the flow of food and other aid to Gaza. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/2/7/israels-war-on-gaza-live-israel-pounds-gaza-as-truce-diplomacy-continues
