An Israeli drone strike killed two people in Gaza on Friday, said the local Palestinian medical authorities and underlined the uncertainty in connection with a fragile ceasefire that has stopped in the enclave for weeks.
The Israeli military said that the drone had hit a group of alleged militants near her troops in the north -Gaza and planted an explosive device in the ground, but there were no details of sacrificing.
The military under the new army chief Lt.-gen. Eyal Zamir has made preparations for a return to the war in the Gaza Strip if the Hamas has no agreement on the extension of the 42-day ceasefire that has been agreed to the last month.
But with a visit to Steve Witkoff, the special envoy of US President Donald Trump, who had direct discussions with Hamas, there was no indication that Israel gave up the continuation of the ceasefire.
A delegation from Hamas came in Cairo for discussions with Egyptian mediators who contributed to facilitating the talks together with civil servants from Qatar in order to continue to the next level of the deal, which could open the way to end the war.
In an obvious attempt to put Israel under pressure, Hamas published a video with the Israeli soldier, Matan Angrest, one of 59 Israeli and foreign hostages that are still held in the Gaza Strip.
Unclear whether ceasefire talks will continue
Despite a number of swallowing, the ceasefire has largely been held since January 19, which enables the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages and five Thaille for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and prisoners.
However, it is unclear whether the talks on the publication of the remaining hostages and the conclusion of the Israeli retreat from Gaza strip despite the pressure from Trump, who demands that Hamas have all the still or devastating consequences.
Israel has demanded the return of his hostages and an expansion of the ceasefire by the Muslim Holy Month Ramadan until after the Jewish Passah holiday in April. However, it refused to agree to the opening of discussions that would cover problems such as the final withdrawal of its troops from Gaza and a post -war administration for the enclave.
Israel says that it will continue to block all humanitarian aid in Gaza Strip, unless Hamas agrees to extend the first phase of the ceasefire contract that has expired on Saturday. Hamas wants to deal directly in phase 2 of the original agreement, which includes all Israeli forces that retire from the Gaza Strip.
Zamir, the new military chief Israel, has visited troops since the command of the Israel defense worker this week and said that the army was ready to return to Gaza Strip when ordered.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health and Officials of the Al-Nahry Hospital said that two people were killed in the drone strike on Friday in the Shejaia region in Gaza City. A similar incident on Thursday killed three people. The military said that the strike also aimed at people how they plant a bomb near the Israeli troops.
On the first Friday from Ramadan, thousands entered the walled old city of Jerusalem to pray in the al-Aqsa mosque. Israel let a limited number of older Palestinians and children from the occupied West Bank to the city.
“We haven’t come for three or four years, but thank God for the happiness and the joy we could reach in the al-Aqsa mosque. This is the greatest joy for Muslims,” said Salah Aleiwi, who came in from West Bank.
The tensions rise in the West Bank
The mosque, in a place in Jerusalem’s old -fashioned city, which Jews call the temple mount and worship as a place of two old temples, is a sacred place for both religions and has long been a focus for clashes that have sometimes turned into broader conflicts.
The tensions in the West Bank rose in a one-week Israeli company against Palestinian refugee camps, in which troops demolished dozens of houses and destroyed streets and other infrastructures and sent tens of thousands of camp residents from their houses.
According to Israel, the operation against Iranians is aimed at Palestinian militant groups that are anchored in the camps.
On Friday there was a strong commitment of the police in the narrow cobblestone streets of the old town, but no reports on serious difficulties.
“The Israeli police are distributed throughout Jerusalem and all over Israel to enable the safe environment for the arrival of all these worshipers that come here,” said police spokesman Dean Elsdunne.
In recent years, the Israeli authorities have regularly restricted access to the security needs, and admission on Friday was the approval of the police, even for those who qualified according to age.
Ibtisam Abdul Fattah, a 65-year-old from the West Bank, said she was turned back twice at the Checkpoint by Qalandiya north of Jerusalem. “We are in our country, but we are not allowed,” she said.
