Israel bombardment has killed 40,000 Palestinians as Gaza ceasefire talks underway

British foreign minister David Lammy and his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne are to discuss the truce talks with Israel’s top diplomat Israel Katz on Friday.
In Beirut on Wednesday, visiting US envoy Amos Hochstein said a deal in Gaza “would also help enable a diplomatic resolution here in Lebanon and that would prevent an outbreak of a wider war”.
“We have to take advantage of this window for diplomatic action and diplomatic solutions. That time is now,” he added.
Hamas’s Oct 7 attack on southern Israel triggered the war and resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
The latest mediation push follows the Jul 31 killing of Sinwar’s predecessor, Hamas political leader and truce negotiator Ismail Haniyeh. His killing during a visit to Tehran sent fears of a wider conflagration soaring.Iran and its regional allies blamed Israel and vowed retaliation. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Western leaders have urged Tehran to avoid hitting Israel over Haniyeh’s killing, which came hours after an Israeli strike in Beirut killed Hezbollah’s military commander.Fallout from the conflict has drawn in Iran-aligned groups from Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.