US in new push for talks on hostages
AMERICA is pushing for more negotiations between Israel and Hamas after families of hostages held in Gaza travelled to Washington with the Daily Mail to call for their release.
The US, Egypt and Qatar are pressuring both sides to thrash out terms and it is claimed Israel and Hamas are willing to engage in discussions in Cairo.
This comes after families of female soldiers taken captive by Hamas travelled to the US capital to push American politicians to work to free them.
They presented copies of a Daily Mail article about the hostages’ nightmare to key leaders, includ
‘Time is of the essence’
ing Senate leader Chuck Schumer, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and Democrat whip Katherine Clark. Ms Schakowsky told the Daily Mail, after accepting the framed clipping: ‘We absolutely cannot forget the 13 women – most of whom are teenage girls – that are still being held hostage. Time is of the essence. I am doing everything in my power to make sure the priority remains getting all the hostages home safely.’
The visit comes as the Hamasrun health ministry claimed that more than 25,000 Palestinians have now been killed in Gaza since the start of the conflict.
The grim milestone was reached as the Israeli Defence Forces discovered a kilometre-long, booby-trapped tunnel where Hamas is said to have kept about 20 hostages. At the end of the tunnel were cramped cells where the captives were held – five narrow rooms behind metal bars.
Toilets, mattresses and even drawings by a child hostage freed in November were found, military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. The military released photos from the underground labyrinth and said it brought in journalists to document the tunnel before it was destroyed.
The tunnel entrance, Mr Hagari said, was in the house of a Hamas member in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where Israel has been focusing its fight in recent weeks. ‘The soldiers entered the tunnel where they encountered terrorists, engaging in a battle that ended with the elimination of the terrorists,’ he added.