The Health Ministry in Gaza said Monday the bodies of 19 people, including two aid-seekers killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire, have been brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours. Another 96 were wounded.
The deaths brought the toll to 67,160 since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered the war, with nearly 170,000 wounded, the ministry said.
Israeli and Hamas officials are meeting in an Egyptian resort Monday for indirect negotiations on a US peace plan for Gaza.
The talks in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh will focus on the first stage of a ceasefire, including the partial withdrawal of Israeli forces as well as the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention, according to a statement from Hamas.
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are also expected to join the talks, Egypt’s state-run Al-Ahram reported.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Monday hailed Trump’s efforts to stop the war.
“A ceasefire, the return of hostages and detainees, the reconstruction of Gaza, and the start of a peaceful political process leading to the establishment and recognition of a Palestinian state mean that we are on the right path toward lasting peace and solid stability,” he said.
He underscored importance of preserving the US-crafted “peace system” in the Middle East since the 1970s, which he said “served as a strategic framework for regional stability.”
Sisi made the remarks in a televised address commemorating the anniversary of the Oct. 6, 1973, war with Israel that led to Egypt reclaiming the Sinai Peninsula, where Sharm el-Sheikh is located.
