Israel and Hamas trade blame amid truce violation claims, says report

Israel, US spy chiefs meet Qatar PM; Blinken to visit the region this week

The Israeli military said on Tuesday three separate explosions targeting its troops in northern Gaza and subsequent shootings have violated a truce with Hamas. 
 

A number of soldiers were lightly injured during the attacks, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in statement. 
 

The troops were positioned in areas that were in line with the cease-fire reached with Hamas last week, Israeli military said.
 

Hamas responded to Israel’s claims of a clash in northern Gaza and truce violation, saying there has been a “friction” in the field. It happened due to the “enemy’s clear violation of the ceasefire deal,” the group said. It was not immediately clear what the latest developments meant for the state of the overall agreement to pause fighting. 
 

Meanwhile, truce between Israel and Hamas entered its fifth day on Tuesday, with the militant group promising to release more hostages to delay the expected resumption of the war and Israel under growing pressure to spare Palestinian civilians when it renews its offensive.
 

Amid the ongoing ceasefire efforts, sources have said that 10 hostages were to be released on Tuesday and another 10 

on Wednesday, but these numbers have not been An extended cease-fire is expected to continue CIA director William Burns and David Barnea, who heads Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, were in Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, to discuss extending the cease-fire and releasing more hostages, a diplomat said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks. A US official confirmed Burns was in Qatar, speaking anonymously because the director's travel plans are not publicised for security reasons.
 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit the region this week, also with an eye to extending the truce.

Disease could be bigger killer than bombs in Gaza: WHO

More people could die from disease than from bombings in the Gaza Strip if its health system is not repaired, a World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson said on Tuesday, warning of a surge in infectious diseases and diarrhoea in children. In figures deemed reliable by the United Nations, Gaza health authorities say more than 15,000 people have been confirmed killed in Israel's bombardment of the narrow enclave, around 40 per cent of them children, with many more feared to be lost under rubble. “Everybody everywhere has dire health needs now because they're starving because they lack clean water and (they’re) crowded together,” said the WHO's Margaret Harris at a UN briefing in Geneva. reuters



Hamas says some civilian hostages are under smaller armed groups

A senior Hamas source in Qatar has said that not all of the civilian hostages are in Hamas hands. Some of them are with smaller groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to BBC. So far, they have managed to locate 20 people. 10 were to be released on Tuesday and another 10 Israeli hostages today. Earlier, Egypt Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Financial Times that Hamas cannot agree an extension to the current ceasefire until it locates 40 women and children. agencies