Israel, which has been bombing the region since Hamas attacked on October 7, will not be present at a summit on humanitarian aid for Gaza that France’s President Emmanuel Macron is hosting on Thursday.
Nevertheless, a Macron aide told reporters before of the meeting that all nations, including Israel, had “an interest in the humanitarian situation improving in Gaza.”
On October 7, Hamas militants broke across the border from Gaza into Israel, murdering over 1,400 people—mostly civilians—and kidnapping over 240 more, according to Israeli officials.
Over 10,500 Palestinians, many of them children, have died as a result of the Israeli military campaign of retaliation, according to the health ministry in Gaza, which is managed by Hamas.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, unless the captives are released, neither fuel nor a ceasefire with Hamas will be granted to Gaza.
Netanyahu and Macron spoke on Tuesday, and when Thursday’s aid conference is concluded, they will speak once more, according to the Elysee Palace.
A source close to Hamas told AFP on Wednesday that negotiations are under way to free twelve captives held by Hamas, including six Americans, in exchange for a three-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
According to a another source, Qatar was mediating talks to liberate “10–15 hostages in exchange for a one- to two-day ceasefire” in collaboration with the US.
Similar to Egypt, Qatar has been instrumental in efforts to increase the amount of aid reaching the Gaza Strip.
According to his office, Macron had a conversation with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt on Tuesday.
