Israel confirms the death of two more hostages in the Gaza Strip

Israeli authorities confirmed Wednesday the death of two more hostages who were being held by the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli media, their names are Tal Chaimi and Joshua Luito Mollel. Both were residents of kibbutzim in southern Israel, Yitzhak and Nahal Oz, respectively.

The two men were captured by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attacks. In the case of Tal Chaimi, 41, he was part of the security and emergency teams that tried to hold off the Palestinian attackers while waiting for reinforcements.

Joshua Luito Mollel was an agriculture student who arrived in Israel from Tanzania just two weeks before the attacks. According to The Jerusalem Post, his father will travel to Israel Thursday to meet with the country's authorities.

Reports of new truce negotiations

On Thursday, several media outlets reported attempts by authorities to promote a new truce in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. A Qatari media outlet based in London claimed to have Egyptian sources that support this report.

In turn, the progressive Israeli newspaper Haaretz also reported attempts by Qatar and Egypt to resume the truce with similar conditions to the last one. This would entail the consequent release of hostages in exchange for prisoners.

End of the war

Israeli Channel 12 assured that the Israeli government will soon present a road map to the United States detailing how the conflict in Gaza could end.

The Israeli estimate for the end of the war is at the end of January 2024. Following this, the Israel Defense Forces would withdraw their troops to defensive positions located both inside and outside the Gaza Strip.

In this new stage, which could last much longer, Israel would continue to carry out some localized military actions within the Gaza Strip. In accordance with this, the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) approved to extend the service of military reserves in order to prevent them from coming off active duty in 2024.

New mass arrests in Gaza

The IDF reported new mass arrests of Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip. Similar to those of days before, images were posted showing long lines of shirtless men captured by Israeli troops. This Wednesday, a new group of at least 70 people was disarmed.

According to the IDF, this was the result of a military operation with aid from the Shin Bet, Israel's internal intelligence agency. It was carried out around the Kamal Adwan Hospital, located in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip.

Although Hamas representatives have assured that there was no military or armed activity in the hospital, IDF spokespeople published images of several detainees surrendering rifles as they were captured, as well as ammunition and other materials.

The new group of prisoners coincides with leaked images showing Israeli soldiers mistreating a small group of Palestinian prisoners. When the IDF was questioned about this episode, they responded that it is under investigation.

New sanctions against West Bank settlers

The United Kingdom announced Thursday that it will issue a series of sanctions and restrictions against settlers occupying land in the West Bank. It thus joins similar sanctions that the United States and the European Union issued in November.

Newly appointed British Foreign Secretary David Cameron made this measure official. It directly targets Jewish settlers who participate in violent acts against Palestinians in the West Bank. The settler issue, which is at the center of the Otzma Yehudit party's agenda, is one of the primary causes of tension between Israelis and Palestinians.

"Extremist settlers, by attacking and killing Palestinian civilians, are undermining security and stability for both Israelis and Palestinians," Cameron wrote on X (formerly Twitter). The sanctions could take the form of bans on specific individuals from traveling to the United Kingdom.